Kisu Yori mo Hayaku : Faster than a Kiss
by KobayashiNariko
Summary: With no parents, shelter, money or food, I was in the worst possible situation. But when an impulsive moment ended with a marriage proposal and his promise to take care of us, was he just playing around or was he serious? AU,UKxUS
1. Prologue

**EDIT: **Due to my decision to go back and fully revise/edit the ten chapters that I have uploaded before continuing, please note that some of the earlier chapters may have some minor inconsistencies with later chapters. Rest assured that these inconsistencies _will_ be ironed out and the story will be continued once I am finished. Thanks to all of my readers for their patience.

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Pairings:** UKUS ((Yes, that means Arthur = seme))

**Author Note:** This is my first fanfiction for Hetalia~ ^_^ ~ The plot is _largely_ based on another manga: Kisu Yori mo Hayaku ((or if you prefer English: "Faster than a Kiss", but I personally think the Japanese title sounds cooler XD))

This is an alternate universe as human names are used and I've fiddled around with their ages to fit the story.  
Also the chapters I upload are considered drafts, so I will be changing and editing them as I keep writing.  
For the sake of the story, let's assume the school system is like Japan's: Elementary/Primary school= K-6, Middle/Junior High school= 7-9 and High school= 10-12.

**I humbly request the harshest constructive criticism you can offer …unless you just want to tell me you hate the story, but in that case, why are you reading it? If you don't like the story or pairings, then please don't read.**

**Warnings:** Light swearing, light Yaoi,

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia or Kisu Yori mo Hayaku, this is a purely fan-made piece of writing that I'm using to distract myself from life...

**~::*::~::*::~Prologue~::*::~::*::~**

~.::*::.~

_At the time…I still felt empty._

~.::*::.~

I didn't think.

I just swung my leg up and forced contact with the boy's torso. As expected, he let out a strangled cry when he hit the ground. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw with a sense of satisfaction that his crony was already petrified. I swallowed my grin and instead glared down at the fallen boy who was now clutching his stomach.

"How dare you mug an innocent girl!" I berated.

That morning had begun as usual when I came to school. On the way to class however, I saw one of my classmates being harassed by two boys just outside the classroom building. The poor girl, close to tears, begged them to leave her alone. Needless to say, the bullies only got bolder with every protest she made.  
To see such a villainous act**—**it made my blood boil. That's why I _had _to go save her, just like a hero would.

~.::*::.~  
_At the time, I was Hetalia High's Second Year Class A's Alfred F. Jones (age 16, if you wanted to know)._  
_In any case, a lot of people back then called me "aggressive" and the "leader of delinquents." But simply put, I just hated wrongdoings and since I was a hero, I needed to fight these wrongdoings... even if I had to be violent._  
_~.::*::.~_

Somehow the guy I kicked down had gotten back up. I curled my fingers into a fist and felt a rush of excitement that only a fight could bring; nothing could be more thrilling than fighting the bad guy.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" He snarled as he came forward to grab a fistful of my shirt and collar. I resisted sighing, it was much too cliché and predictable a reaction on his part. But I didn't expect anything less from such a weak opponent.

I brought up one hand to grab his wrist when I heard another voice call out from behind me, "AH! Coach Braginski's coming!"  
The effect of the shout was immediate, and in my opinion, amusing. Both the guy holding my collar and his accomplice backed away, both instantly turning pale.

Coach Ivan Braginski was a lumbering giant of a Physical Education teacher. For some reason I never really felt _that _scared around him, even though he was rather unnerving at times. But he appeared to terrify both students and teachers, despite his seemingly ever-present smile and baby face.  
I ignored the two cowards that ran out without even checking to see if the burly coach had even arrived, which he _didn't, _by the way. Irked instead, I turned toward the building behind me. The ground floor windows were almost closed and they were also the type that was hard to see through from one side.  
I was annoyed to the point that I barely registered the timid "thank you" from the girl I saved before she left. Then again, I hadn't bothered to try to get close to any of the students while I was here, so my aloofness couldn't possibly have offended her. At the time though, only one thought was running through my head: Why did that guy have to go and ruin my chance to teach those bullies a lesson?

"You're a teacher yourself and yet you depend on another teacher? That's just sad…" I said, knowing full well who it was that called out earlier _and_ that he could hear me through the crack of the slightly open window.  
"And why did you do that? I was in the middle of a heroic rescue!" I added a hint of a whine in my voice, something I really only did when with him.

"What rubbish." The voice scoffed with a strong British accent. Only this time the window slid open and the voice was finally accompanied by the face of the speaker, "You just looked like you wanted to fight. If I had just let you go on as you were, you would have gotten hurt by now."

I laughed then said, "Aw, Teach—I'm the hero. I _can't_ get hurt."

"That naïveté of yours is what's going to hurt you in the future." He retorted with his usual scowl. And so we bickered back and forth, at that point this was a daily ritual.

~.::*::.~  
_Ah, I forgot to mention…This guy was Class A's Homeroom and History teacher, Arthur Kirkland. Despite scowling like a cranky old man all the time, he was only 23 years old.  
He tended to space out a lot even when teaching in class and a lot of us had the suspicion that he definitely believed in stuff like magic and faeries._

_~.::*::.~  
If anyone saw us while we were arguing, that person would easily say that we were not compatible in the least bit, but…  
~.::*::.~_

That same evening, I padded down the narrow front hall of the apartment as I heard the front door open. Matthew F. Jones or just 'Matt', my 10-year-old brother, followed close behind me. Held tightly in his arms was Kumajirou, a large stuffed polar bear, whose name seemed to change every time Matt referred to it. He's had that toy for the longest time but he managed to keep it in near perfect condition. Probably because he looked after it so meticulously despite being so young, then again, he was always more mature than most kids his age. Of course, I only regret that the last two years caused this rapid increase in maturity; he should have gotten more time to act his age.

I grimaced slightly as I felt my stomach growl. I wanted nothing more but to start eating, but if I didn't welcome this guy home, I'd end up having to eat _his_ cooking and have a full cup of after-dinner tea. Just the thought of it made me shudder.

He finally came into view as the door clicked closed behind him. "I'm home." He called out rather softly, almost as if he wasn't really expecting anyone to greet him.  
Although I plastered a large grin on my face, I didn't fake the cheerfulness in my voice. After all, one greeting equaled a tasty dinner.

"Welcome home, Arthur." The words felt strange on my tongue; it had been a while since I welcomed _anyone_ home so warmly.

Matt mirrored me. "Welcome home!"

Arthur looked surprised at our greeting. I guess he wasn't used to being welcomed home since a light blush crossed his face. A smile came too, but it wasn't directed at me. Arthur was looking down at Matt. Gently he patted the top of Matt's head as he said, "Thank you. I don't think I even remember the last time anyone welcomed me home."

I felt myself pull a face, feeling irritated suddenly. Why didn't he smile like that towards me?  
It was immature, but I couldn't help but try to call his attention, "What about me?"

His eyes flashed towards me. The green was bright…and piercing, as if scolding me for my juvenile impatience. I noticed his smile faltered and nearly faded as he instead busied himself with taking off his work shoes. Without looking at me, he said, "Ah, yes. Thank you too."

A heat rose up my face, enveloping my cheeks and ears. There was no denying I was now flushed red, but whether it was from anger at Arthur's reaction or embarrassment from my childish outburst…I didn't know. I opened my mouth to complain but before I could utter a sound, another voice called out, this time from farther inside the apartment, the kitchen in fact.

"Ah, Arthur, you're home? I guess this means I'll start dinner?" The owner of the voice poked his head out into the hall, already putting on the apron.

"Sure, we'll be right there." Arthur answered.  
Matt, who had been nervously looking up at both me and Arthur, perked up as he heard the voice. He turned and ran down the hall to the kitchen, calling out, "I'll help set the table!"

I allowed myself a small smile as I watched Matt go down the hall. A soft chuckle next to me made me realize that I was now alone with Arthur.  
Seizing the opportunity, I turned towards him, ready to grumble out what I wanted to say earlier. But the words got stuck in my throat as I suddenly faced the Briton's smile. It looked the same as the smile he gave to Matt….but it _felt_ different, because it brought back that tingling warmth to my face.

"Let's have dinner. Shall we, Alfred?" He started to walk forward.

A moment passed before I let go of an unconsciously held breath. Not a thought more went through my head though, as my eyes focused on his back. But it took yet another loud growl from my stomach to snap me out of my daze.  
Arthur must have heard it too. His shoulders were quivering from what I could easily guess to be silent laughter.

~.::*::.~  
_It really _seemed_ like we were very, very incompatible, but…_

_We were married.  
~.::*::.~_

**Author Note:** Yah~ The prologue is definitely not as long as the chapters will be but this is just the start. I understand that the Prologue explains just about, well, nothing. But don't worry, much will be explained in Chapter 1! Please keep in mind that I am currently editing the first 10 chapters, so there may be minor inconsistencies


	2. 1: This Strange Lifestyle: Alfred

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Author Note: **I would first like to **thank everyone that reviewed** ((in all honesty I didn't expect many…if any reviews, so those who reviewed made me happy and hyper for the entire day XD)). I would also like to thank _mephistocat_ for the awesome constructive criticism~ It really helped improve the Prologue~  
And on a side note the Prologue was **last edited on 29 January**, so there may be some changes in the previous page that you have not read yet.

**Here we go~** I finally have the first chapter up. ^_^ We finally have some explanations for the events presented in the Prologue, but there's still plenty to come of course~ I hope the first chapter isn't too boring~ 'cause I had quite a lot of ground to cover in regard to background/base information. Please remember to consider this a **first draft,** so that is to say it is not perfect.

Once again, **I humbly request the harshest constructive criticism you can offer.**  
If you don't like something, please don't just tell me you don't like it (that's not very helpful, and a waste of time on your part), tell me _why_ so I can figure out if it's something I can improve on~

**Warnings:** Light swearing, Yaoi, my writing style…

**Disclaimer:** Unfortunately, I do not own Hetalia or Kisu Yori mo Hayaku, but I love them both enough to throw my favorite characters into Kisu Yori's plot and see what happens~ :3

* * *

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter One: This Strange Lifestyle's Beginning~::*::~::*::~**

~.::*::.~  
_I'm guessing you were rather confused as to what was going on…_and_ why I was married to my teacher.  
But don't worry! A hero always explains himself! You see…  
~.::*::.~_

Two years before Arthur took us in, our parents passed on. I was 14 and Matt- only 9.  
Their sudden absence carved a large hole in my heart, within which I stored and suppressed every negative emotion I possibly could, because filling that hole with grief was better than leaving it empty. At least that way I would feel _something._  
And as for Matt…I assumed responsibility for my only brother and kept him close to me. Because he was all I had left.

That's why when we were tossed around from relative to relative, I didn't bother to create any bonds with them, mostly because they were only taking us in due to obligation…or out of pity. I despised being pitied; a hero didn't need the pity of those who didn't care about him.  
Each relative had found some reason or another to avoid taking care of us or send us to yet another extended family member. And with each thinly veiled lie and ridiculous excuse my anger escalated. I grew tired of moving from house to house, each one containing people who had no interest in raising Matt and me.

As much as I hated the obvious transparency of their excuses, something I hated more was how Matt worried himself sick each and every time I accidently let him see how restless and frustrated I was.

After two years of living like that, it became unbearable… so we ran.  
At the time I didn't think about the consequences; I didn't think about where we would get money, where we would get shelter, or even where we would get food and water.  
I didn't think; I only acted.

But I could never bring myself to regret it, even for a moment, because it was that same impulsiveness that brought Arthur to us.

~.::*::.~

Without keeping track of time after leaving the house with our few belongings, we ended up at a park bench. Having wandered aimlessly for some time we sat there so Matt could rest. With a bit of the little amount of money I had taken with me, I bought a can of juice from a vending machine and handed it to him.  
Sitting down, I hung my arms around the back of the bench and stretched out my legs. Lolling my head back I looked up at the sky.  
What were we going to do? We barely had any money on us, no shelter to go to and soon nothing to drink or eat. Oh food…when had I last eaten? I would have given just about anything for a nice hot hamburger in that moment. Bringing my head back up, I hesitantly looked to my right.

Sitting just next to me was Kumajirou and next to the toy bear was Matt taking little sips of the juice, his eyes concentrated on the can in his hands. It was his childish way of being angry at me.  
When I told him we were leaving he had cried, and throughout that day he had cried time and time again. Now his eyes were red and cheeks flushed pink. I didn't try to talk to him and he didn't even look over at me. A pang of guilt wrapped around my torso, squeezing the air out of it. I could tell Matt was not happy with my decision to run away, but I couldn't leave him behind…I was selfish in that way.  
Although, I would have been _just _as selfish, if not more, if I had run away on my own; either way, I was in a no-win situation.

Just as I turned my head away I heard Matt whisper, "I want to go home."  
The guilt squeezed tighter, now wrapping up my windpipe.

"I miss mom and dad."  
I couldn't breathe, the lump in my throat prevented that and my eyes were burning too.  
The soft longing in his words had finally torn down the wall I had so carefully constructed to keep my emotions jailed.  
And every negative feeling I had suppressed for those two years came rushing out without a sound. Two years of grief, of worry, of anger, and of longing, a longing for the two people that would never again enter my life.  
The reality of our situation hit me—hard…and all I could do was grit my teeth and look down as the tears finally overflowed and spilled. With my elbows on my knees, I buried my face in my hands, all the while causing tears to smudge across my glasses.

That was when I heard a soft rustle next to me and then a light hand touched my shoulder. When I looked up I saw Matt with an expression so very familiar… though I had only seen it in the mirror, not across my brother's face. It was a serious expression and yet his eyes were so sad. So empty.  
But he wasn't crying. No, for the first time I was able to understand how Matt felt when _I_ comforted _him_. For only a moment, we had switched roles and I was no longer the elder brother.

"Please don't cry, Alfie." He said softly, bringing up a hand to wipe the moisture from one cheek, though he only succeeded in spreading the tears around instead of drying them. I could feel the corners of my mouth twitch upward.  
'Alfie' was our mother's nickname for me. I remembered all the times I protested against what I believed to be a girly nickname, and yet that same nickname was what comforted me most.

I pulled his hand away from my face and instead brought him into a tight hug.  
"I'm sorry." I whispered into his shoulder, in apology for my rash behaviour, "Matt. I'm so sorry."

"Shh. It'll be ok. I'm with you right?" I almost laughed at the irony; those were the same words I had often used myself. Matt soothed the back of my head, patting my hair in a fashion similar to our mother's.  
Never before had I appreciated the thin figure enveloped in my arms so much. I vowed then and there I would make sure Matt would get his happy ending. He deserved nothing less.  
And I would become the hero Matt needed, though it never occurred to me that even _I_ would need my own hero. But... a hero didn't need someone else to save him, did he?

When I finally pulled back, Matt had taken the liberty of taking off my glasses and drying them on his shirt before quietly giving them back. After that we continued to sit in silence for a few moments, just taking comfort in each other's presence.

I had gone back to contemplating a way out of that worst case situation when a stranger, a man, approached us. Matt unconsciously took Kumajirou into his lap and wrapped his arms around it; this was a nervous motion of his that I had seen many times before. Surreptitiously, I slipped my arm around him and he scooted closer into my side.  
I didn't remember the man's face, but whoever it was; I remember he offered us quite a bit of money. And although what he wanted me to do in return for the money was rather unsavory to say the least, I horrified myself when I actually considered accepting the offer.

But before I could wheedle out as much money as I could out of the man, _he _came.  
He pushed the man aside, causing said man to leave grumbling, but he paid the stranger no mind and instead exclaimed, "Alfred! Do you have any idea 'ow long I've been looking for you?"

Out of everyone that I knew…only Arthur Kirkland, my teacher, had been looking for us.

Deep down, _really_ deep down, I was touched, I really was.  
But at the time, he had just chased off a potential source of money and I was already in a foul mood from hunger and worry.

So despite my noticing how crumpled and dirty his suit was, how out of breath he looked, and how frantic he seemed, I could only glare at him with tired eyes.

"What do you want?" I growled, "And don't do that! I need the money to look after Matt!" As I said that I could feel Matt's quivering hand curl around the fabric of my sweater in response to my rough tone. Gently I pulled him closer for comfort, my eyes never leaving Arthur.  
He looked somewhat deep in thought and there was a strained pause before he finally said, "Let's go back."

"To where?" I asked angrily. My patience was wearing thin and if he didn't give me a straightforward response—

"…My home." He answered.  
My train of thought crashed. It took me a few moments to stutter out my reply under his sharp gaze and emerald eyes that were boring into me, gauging my reaction.

"We don't need your help…or your sympathy." I replied but not as strongly as I would have liked.  
His own response however, startled me; I must have finally worn out his patience for him to retort back the way he did.

"I'm not offering you my sympathy!"

'Then why the hell are you here?' is what I was thinking when I finally snapped.  
I sat to my full height and brought Matt even closer, placing a protective hand on his head.

I snarled sarcastically, "Really? Then will you marry me and take care of us?"  
Arthur was clearly taken aback looking stunned momentarily. I grinned derisively as his eyes widened briefly. But…I didn't expect him to retaliate in the way he did.

Almost immediately recovering, he roared back, "Yes! I WILL!"

.

..

...

...

...What?

I wasn't serious when I said that!  
I was irritated and tired and hungry…and…and I wasn't thinking clearly, right? Thousands of protests rose up in my throat and yet for some reason all of them died then and there when Arthur grabbed my wrist and I felt what little will I had left crumble.

I once said that a hero didn't need someone else to save him. Yet there Arthur was, suddenly a hero in my eyes.

I followed mutely when he proceeded to drag me, Matt and our few belongings to his home.

~.::*::.~

I didn't remember much of what happened after that since my mind was still in the process of wrapping around the fact that my _teacher_ had accepted my impromptu proposal.

When I finally snapped out of my daze, I was sitting in front of a simple yet surprisingly tasty dinner. Looking around I realized I was inside Arthur's flat; it had a rather cozy feeling to it.

The layout of the flat was very interesting: From the entrance there was a shoe closet directly to the right and a narrow hallway straight ahead. Farther down the hall I could see three doors on the left and two on the right. We had gone down to the farthest door on the right; it led into the kitchen and I found that the kitchen connected to the living room, but there was no wall between the two. The only things partitioning the two rooms were the tiles of the kitchen and the hardwood paneling of the living room as well as the simple square dining table placed in the middle.  
I would find out later that one of the doors on the right side of the hallway led to the only bathroom, which was nestled between the two bedrooms, one of which also functioned as Arthur's study.

No matter where I looked, there wasn't a single waste of space in his flat, everything seemed to have its place.

Back at the dinner table, I felt the slightly damp towel I had hung around my neck and shoulders and remembered Arthur had offered each of us a bath that we gladly took. I looked over at Matt who was already digging into his food, crumbs sticking to the corners of his mouth, but he didn't seem to mind.

Looking back down at the food, I was reminded by my stomach as to how hungry I was and so I proceeded to eat what I would later find out to be one of the only (edible) dishes Arthur was capable of making: Fish and Chips. (I never really understood why he called French Fries, "Chips." Thankfully I decided against asking him about that at the time).

As we were finishing up dinner, Arthur went over to Matt to brush away the crumbs left on his face from the fish. Once satisfied, Arthur smiled broadly and patted Matt's head.

"You've worked hard haven't you by looking after your brother?" He asked gently. Matt nodded shyly. Briefly he went back to the kitchen and pulled out a small box of hard candy from the cabinet, taking out one piece he handed it to Matt, "For your hard work."

Matt looked surprised initially but he wrapped his fingers around the sphere of candy as his eyes lit up in a way I hadn't seen since before our parents funeral. Matt loved any kind of sweets in general, but the best part was the fact that he _smiled._ It was something I missed the most in the past two years.

A rush of affection for my young brother filled me with warmth. The precious happiness I felt in that moment welled up in my chest, and for one moment I really believed things would get better.

And I knew I had no one to thank but Arthur.

~.::*::.~

Arthur had let us stay the night in the guest room/study after mentioning briefly that he would go out in the morning to get the marriage documents. Needless to say, I could barely go to sleep, and when I did, my mind tossed and turned with one dream after another. The study had a large bed in it, and judging by the mass of papers on the desk, I guessed that Arthur often worked 'till he fell asleep in this room often. Through out the night I envied how peacefully Matt slept next to me, even though I was also glad that we finally had a place to stay.

~.::*::.~

The next morning I found myself along with Matt and Arthur back at the dinner table, the documents lying in front of me. As I watched Arthur filling out the formalities of the paper it finally sank in that he was actually serious about doing this.

He was so focused on the form that I wasn't sure if he heard me when I asked, "Are you serious? You_ do_ realize you're my _teacher_, right?" When he didn't respond a thought crossed my mind, 'He must be serious, why else would he go so far as to even risk his job? And this way, Matt will be guaranteed a somewhat stable home…'

"Are you really sure?" I asked again then hesitated before adding, "…but…I'd be grateful if you can take care of Matt."

Pausing the scratching of his pen on the paper, Arthur didn't even look up when he answered, "Well, then there's no problem, don't you think?"

"But—" I started.

"There." He cut me off as he finished signing his name as I had done earlier and held up the paper for me and Matt to see, "From tomorrow onwards, we'll be enjoying a new lifestyle."

'He's really serious about this…' I couldn't help but think as I saw his small smile.

~.::*::.~  
_And just like that…_

_Because of that moment's impulse  
Our marriage lifestyle began.  
~.::*::.~_

* * *

**Author's Note:** For the next chapter, I'm planning on writing what happens in this chapter from Arthur's point of view, so some depth can be added to the story. The next chapter will also give somewhat of a logical explanation for Arthur's agreeing to marry Alfred~

And...XD~ Alfred's nickname...i felt the need to give him one, 'cause in Kisu Yori mo Hayaku the little brother calls Fumino, "Buncha" or something along the lines of that~ If anyone comes up with a different nickname please suggest it- unless, well, you're satisfied with "Alfie."

Again, please note that this is a **work in progress** and it _will_ be undergoing numerous edits and revisions. So it's a good idea to check once in a while when I have edit notes at the top of the page and in my story summary.

~ If you have a moment…spare me a review? So I can improve, yes? ~ :3


	3. 2: This Strange Lifestyle: Arthur

**EDIT: **9 February 2010: Major~ish revisions: Some rewording with changes in diction and formatting as well.~ :3

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Author Note: **Yay for reviews~~I appreciate all of them! And also I apologize for the large gap of time since the first chapter~ A lot has happened and it's left me with hardly any time to breathe. But in exchange this is an exceptionally long chapter ~

So, finally we have Arthur's POV on this whole situation~ (Further in the story we'll get more shifts of point of view so the story can get some proper meaning and depth.)

On a side note, Chapter 1 was last edited on 6 February 2010.

As usual, I **want your harshest constructive criticisms!** And of course I'll also kindly request reviews so I'm motivated to keep writing~ ^_^

**Warnings: **Some swearing courtesy of Arthur, Yaoi, and my writing in general ;)

**Disclaimer: **The only thing I own is this juxtaposition of Hetalia and Kisu Yori mo Hayaku (which belong to their respective owners of course~).

* * *

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter Two: This Strange Lifestyle's Beginning~::*::~::*::~**

**~::*::~Arthur Kirkland~::*::~**

~.::*::.~**  
**_I figured Alfred would not explain to all of you how in the world I was able to _marry_ him _without _landing my arse in jail.  
Therefore I found it only necessary that you heard my side of how this all started…  
_~.::*::.~

When I initially heard of Alfred F. Jones it happened to be my first year as a teacher. Alfred had come to Hetalia High School with a less than praiseworthy reputation.

"Delinquent?"

"Yes. Many of the teachers and students call him that." I explained taking a sip from the teacup in my hand. I was sitting at my dining table, idly flipping though a book about ghost sightings as I added, "But I also heard the boy has a strong sense of justice; it's just he has a rather violent way of fighting for it."

"You know, He reminds me of another boy I once knew." I set down the cup of tea, grimacing.

"Please Gwin. When I was Alfred's age…I was far from having any sense of justice."

"Hmmn, maybe. But you _were_ violent."

I groaned, "Don't remind me."

~.::*::.~  
_I was sure you must have been wondering who in the world I was talking to. Well, you may not have been able to see or hear her, but she was with me for as long as I could remember.  
She was somewhat of a guardian angel…er, faerie.  
Her name was Gwin and I had yet to find another person with the capability of seeing her. It was sad how most people lost touch with their fantasy side.  
But I never lost that part of me. If anything it grew over the years, allowing me to see more than just faeries but unicorns and ghosts and—I ought to stop there before my excitement gets the best of me.  
In any case, it was because of my ability that many people tended to misunderstand me and consider me mentally unbalanced. Somehow over time I learned to get used to that because I always had Gwin._

_But as time passed, I realized that getting used to it also meant getting used to being lonely.  
_~.::*::.~

When my second year of teaching began, Alfred was in my homeroom class. I eventually got to see firsthand the strange way in which Alfred fought against the bullies.  
Despite protecting the victims, he almost never accepted their thanks and ended up distancing himself from everyone. That act of distancing was what intrigued me first, and it was also what led me to look into his student file.

As I read through the file, I was surprised to find how often his address had changed in those past two years. At the time I found it strange to be so interested in a single student but I couldn't stop myself from wanting to help him…before he took the wrong path.

That was why I requested a conference with his guardian at the time. At the meeting Alfred arrived with his guardian, but also with his younger brother, Matthew. His guardian, a fairly young woman named Ms. Williams, explained that she was unmarried and lived alone.  
I noted at the end of the meeting that Alfred had barely said a word the whole time I spoke with her and that he kept Matthew very close to him, all the while distancing himself from Ms. Williams.

One of the only things I remembered about the meeting was the fact that Alfred had only moved to her home a month or so ago and she was already planning to send them to yet another household.  
I vividly recalled a shadow of anger cross over Alfred's face when she had stated that.  
It was then that I believed I found the cause of his behaviour. It wasn't just his parents' deaths; it was all this moving around.  
A boy his age needed a stable environment…I could attest to that.

"Such a poor child." Gwin said softly when they left. When I didn't answer she flew over to me and landed lightly on the top of my head. It was seemingly her favourite spot to rest since she had said something or other about my hair being soft.

"You want to help him don't you?" she asked as I leaned back in my chair slowly, careful not to tilt my head in any way that would cause her to fall off.

I answered in an uncertain voice, "Yes…I just don't know _h__ow_."

~.::*::.~

Soon enough, the day Alfred was meant to move to his new home arrived…not that I was keeping track of it of course.

However, he did not attend school that day. Still, that in itself was not surprising, given that he often skipped class.  
The only thing that made it unusual was the fact that Ms. Williams called the school to ask if Alfred had turned up that morning.

"No he is not here today. Should he be?" I asked on the phone.

"I think... Oh, I don't know. I just got a call from the home was supposed to reach and they told me he never arrived—even though I was sure I had dropped them off just outside the house. But I didn't check to see if they ever entered the home…I'm afraid…I think they've run away. I didn't know who to call, that's why I thought it best to contact you, Mr. Kirkland."  
Her voice was quivering the whole time and I couldn't tell if she was acting or not. I decided she wasn't, since she had also briefly mentioned having a bit of a money problem during out meeting and that was the reason why she couldn't afford to take care of Alfred and Matthew.  
As I accepted the panic in her voice was genuine, I felt guilty that I once thought badly of her wanting Alfred and Matthew to move to yet another new home.  
That was when my own panic set in.

From personal experience, I knew that running away was positively the worst thing he could do. Who knows what could happen?

After ending the call, I hastily went over to the Principal Julian Livius, a rather easy-going man. I requested an emergency leave and only said it had to do with one of my students. Livius was one of the few people that knew about my life before I had taken to teaching and he understood me to some point. All he did was listen to me seriously and then nod curtly, allowing me to dash out the door.

~.::*::.~

Once I finally got out into the streets I muttered under my breath, barely moving my lips thanks to years of practice, "Gwin…Where in the world am I going to start? They could be anywhere by now."

"I might be able to help." Gwin said smiling as she fluttered above my shoulder, "I think you overlooked the fact that I have the ability to sense anyone's unique aura."

"…" Ah! That was the key! How could I have forgotten that? If Gwin was familiar enough with Alfred's aura she could easily track him down.

"Can you sense Alfred's aura?"

"Well enough." Gwin answered.  
And we were off; increasing my speed to keep up with Gwin's flying I could feel a spark of hope and a renewed burst of gratitude toward my faerie guardian.

~.::*::.~

I don't remember when I had just stopped looking at my wristwatch. Time simply blended together as I was solely focused on finding this problem child.  
Tracking said problem child was very taxing on Gwin; her sensing ability sapped much of her power 'till all she was able to do was sit on the top of my head and give directions in a barely audible voice.

We had picked up a trail that Alfred's unique aura left behind and followed its meandering path. It seemed to me that Alfred had no clue where to go.

It was when we entered the park that Gwin finally fell onto my hair.  
"I'm sorry Arthur. But now all I can tell is that he's in this park, very close."

"I see. Thank you Gwin, I will take it from here." I smiled softly; Gwin had done so much already, now it was up to me.

It was a fairly large park and to be frank, I was exhausted. As soon as I found an empty bench, I plopped down to let my strained muscles rest. It had been a while since I had done any strenuous activity since teaching led to a rather peaceful life…well, compared to how my life was _before_ teaching that is.  
Slouching slightly, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. I only planned to rest for a little bit, just to catch my breath. But my eyes were closed for barely a minute when I felt my hair being tugged.  
I ignored it.  
Then my hair was pulled rather sharply. I swear some strands were torn out.

Reflexively I cried out, "Ow!" And I really hoped no one was within earshot of my following outburst, "Gwin! What was_ that_ for?"  
In response she slid down to my shoulder where I could see her and pointed, "Look."

I followed her delicate finger to a bench a bit farther down. What I saw made me jolt up, causing Gwin to yelp slightly in protest.  
The bench had two familiar figures: one tall and lanky and the other a seemingly smaller copy of the bigger one. Their trademark blond hair and glasses made me certain that they were the brothers I was looking for.

Initially I started towards them slowly, taking time to examine the man they were talking to. He seemed a bit suspicious, and whether it was the look in his eye, Alfred's uneasy expression or something else, I soon found myself running towards them.  
I pushed aside the man and ignored him as he grumbled off. Instead I looked straight at the very boy who had me running all around this town looking for him.

"Alfred!" I bellowed, "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?" I realized that this was the first time I had called him by his first name. I had only ever called all of my students by their last names, so I wouldn't end up too attached to them.  
Pushing aside that thought, I saw that his brother was clinging to Alfred's side, the light purple eyes wide but not scared. At first Alfred's eyes were in a similar state, but they soon settled into a tired glare.

"What do you want?" He growled, "And don't do that! I need the money to look after Matt!"

I had to find _some_ way to convince him to at least go to his next relative's home.  
"Let's go back." I started and meant to elaborate on where to go back _to_ but Alfred's response came too quickly.

"To where?"

I took a steadying breath, his interruption was gnawing into what little patience I possessed.  
As I was about to say 'to your relative's home,' Gwin quickly spoke into my ear, "Since he looks like he doesn't want to go to his relatives, why don't we take them home?"

She then added, "Besides, you're lonely Arthur. You know that."  
Well…I couldn't argue against _that._

And before I could stop myself, I slipped out, "…my home."  
My answer came out carefully and I settled with simply observing Alfred's reaction. Silence fell between us again as I waited for him to gather his thoughts.

Finally he stuttered out, "We don't need your help…or your sympathy."  
Although I could tell he was not too adamant about that statement, I had finally reached the limit of my patience.

Sympathy? He saw my kindness as _sympathy?_

"I'm not offering you my sympathy!" I snapped back, not bothering to acknowledge Gwin's sharp warning of, "Arthur! Calm down!"  
Somehow what I said seemed to trigger something in the boy as he suddenly sat up and brought Matthew closer to him protectively.

"Really? Then will you marry me and take care of us?"

Ah. Now _that_ caught me off guard and I was not sure my brain fully processed the implications of his words (or my answer for that matter) when I yelled back.

"Yes! I WILL!"

.

..

…..

…What the hell had I just agreed to?

How could I have answered like that? I must have finally gone mad!  
He  
was  
my  
_student.  
_He was only sixteen years old and I was twenty three…this was _illegal!_

I probably would have stayed in a slight state of shock if Gwin hadn't pulled out yet another clump of my hair. Well, _that_ helped me recover quickly didn't it?

I looked down at Alfred. At another time I would think back to this moment and be amused.  
The poor boy's eyes were wide open and his mouth slightly gaping, opening and closing slightly but not making a sound.  
At least now he would not protest when I took him and Matthew back home and have them cleaned up and fed properly.

Bending down, I grabbed his wrist; he automatically latched onto his brother's hand, more out of reflex than conscious action. They followed me silently the whole way back, which was good.

Because I doubt I could form a coherent sentence with my mind still grasping at the fact that I had just accepted my _student's_ (likely unintended) proposal.

~.::*::.~

Back at home, Matthew had kindly offered to make sure Alfred wouldn't slip on a bar of soap or something when I offered a bath for each of them. He seemed to be a rather reliable boy so I had no problem leaving Alfred in his care.

With the boys busy taking a bath, I went to my living room where I promptly took off my business jacket and loosened the suffocating tie. Normally I would have put the jacket in the laundry basket…but that was in the bathroom, so I just draped it over the couch's arm and let myself collapse into the cushions.

Gwin, after resting on my shoulder the whole way home, had enough energy to go to the answering machine to check for any messages. She clicked a button and announced there were two messages: one from the school (I later found that it was the principal) and another from the _frog_ next door.

"Let's see what the frog has to say." I said with my eyes closed. I heard a small click as Gwin pressed down on yet another button and I heard a familiar and often irritating voice.

" 'Allo! Zis is Francis~. I'm just letting you know zat I 'ave a date tonight so I won't be able to make dinner. You can go ahead and 'ave your _bland_ fish and chips."

So far only Francis Bonnefoy was able to irritate me so much in such a small message. But despite our disagreements we had been through a lot together, and…the prat lived next door.  
There was no escaping him.  
When we moved to this apartment we worked out an agreement that I would buy most of the ingredients and Francis would cook for both of us.

Gwin giggled as I finally got up and complained that my fish and chips were _not _bland— I simply didn't like adding too many spices that would cover up the natural taste of the fish.

Besides, maybe it was a good thing that Alfred and Matthew had not met the hopeless flirt yet. I didn't want to traumatize them just as they moved in.

I headed over to the kitchen as I rolled up the sleeves of my shirt and put on a simple apron before starting to cook. I prided myself on not burning fish or potatoes…or setting them on fire for that matter (I'm still not sure how that happened with everything else I tried to cook…even when I didn't need to heat it up).  
Sure there wasn't much else that I could cook, but that was because I had never needed to learn.

I took out the fish and set it on the chopping board. For some reason, I always liked the smell of fish. Far from being stinky, it reminded me of the ocean I loved.  
'When was the last time I had gone down to the harbour in this town?' I mused.  
Maybe I could go with Alfred and Matthew. I smiled at the thought and promised myself that I would take them there one day.

~.::*::.~

At dinner I was relieved to see both of them eagerly eating. Alfred had also seemed to have snapped out of his daze. Occasionally I paused eating to simply look at the two of them eat. It was comforting to have someone other than Francis eating at this table.  
I noticed Alfred often glanced over at Matthew, as if to make sure his younger brother was eating properly. A shadow of a smile was on his face as he looked at the crumbs that stuck to the corners of Matthew's mouth.

After finishing dinner, I went over to Matthew with a slightly damp napkin to wipe away the crumbs gently.  
"You've worked hard haven't you by looking after your brother?" I asked softly and smiled when Matthew nodded shyly.

"He's such a sweet child." Gwin cooed then suggested, "You should give him candy as a reward! There's some in the top cupboard."  
When I went over to the cupboard to get the box of hard candy I whispered softly to her, "Good idea Gwin." She only smiled.

I took out one piece and handed it to the young boy, "For your hard work."  
Wrapping the marble shaped candy in his hands Matthew smiled genuinely. I was relieved as I glanced at Alfred and saw a small smile on his face as well.

~.::*::.~

I had let the two brothers sleep in my study. There were only two reasons why I kept a bed in there: One, it was easier to collapse onto that bed after staying up late to grade papers than walk all the way to my room.  
And two, every time Francis was dumped by a girlfriend (or boyfriend) he would spend the night drinking in my study only to pass out on the bed after whining to me. I lost count as to how many times that second scenario had happened.  
Ever since I moved into the apartment I never really had any other use for that bed; I never got any visitors and Francis didn't count as a visitor anyway.

Taking a hot cup of after-dinner tea to my room I set my mind to work on how to figure out this situation. After a few moments of thinking, I decided to call Alfred's previous guardian, Ms. Williams.

It was only when she answered worriedly that I realized how long it had been since I had last spoken to her, "Mr. Kirkland! Please tell me you've found them!"

"Please, calm down first." I said gently, "Yes I have found the two of them."

"Oh thank goodness!"

"However, they are very much unwilling to go to their relatives' home. For now they are staying the night in my flat."

"…But, then…"

"I 'ave already considered allowing them to stay with me until Alfred is able to work on his own." I said.

"But, if you're not their legal guardian then they can't stay with you."

"Then I will become their guardian."  
But of course _nothing _was that simple.

"Unfortunately, I read their parents' will. No one but a relative can legally become their guardian."  
So much for Plan A…

"Not to worry." I started then took a deep breath to straighten out my thoughts. I still couldn't believe I was doing this. "I believe I found a way for them to stay in my home that does not involve my becoming their guardian."

"What way is that?"

"First I must ask, are you still their legal guardian or have you passed those papers to his relatives?"

"Yes, I'm still their guardian."  
And that was all I needed to know.

"Very well. Then with your permission, do you mind if I stop by your home early tomorrow morning to talk to you about this?" Tomorrow was Saturday, so luckily school wouldn't be a problem.

"Not at all. Please do Mr. Kirkand." I quickly established a general time for when I would arrive at her house and ended the call.

"So you really are going through with the marriage thing?" Gwin asked.

I nodded as I picked up the tea cup, "I can't believe it myself, Gwin. But…the marriage will only last until Alfred is old enough to take care of himself and Matthew."  
I felt a little prick of sadness at my last statement. When Alfred was 18 he would legally be old enough to move out and get a job, leaving me alone again.

'Well' I thought, 'At least you have two years to enjoy living with them.'

~.::*::.~

When I woke up very early the next morning it took me a few moments to remember what had happened the day before…and what I needed to do that day. Forcing myself out of bed I went over to my study to check on the boys.  
Last night I had written a small note to put on the bedside table for them just in case they were sleeping when I left to get the documents.  
Gwin was still sleeping; I didn't wake her because she often slept in late and would catch up to me later in the day.

Note in hand, I wondered whether I should have knocked on the door. Given the chance that they were asleep I quietly turned the handle and popped my head inside. Two silent sleeping figures greeted me.

Relieved, I opened the door fully and walked in. Alfred was on his back, his limbs sprawled around the bed. His head was turned away from me; on the other hand Matthew was curled up around his polar bear, his face towards me.  
Silently I put the note on the side table and just as I pulled back my hand, Matthew stirred.

"Mnn" He mumbled incoherently as his eyes opened drowsily.

"Matthew. Did I wake you?" I crouched down by the bed so I could be at eye level with the boy.

"No. I get up early." He sat up slightly and took his glasses from the side table. Looking up at me he asked, "Are you going somewhere…um, Mr. Kirkland?"

I smiled. The last time I had met Matthew was the conference I held with his last guardian and at the time he had only heard my last name. "Yes. I have to go out for a little bit. And you can call me Arthur if you like."

"Can I call you Artie?" Matthew asked.

"Why Artie?" I cocked my head to the side, "What's wrong with Arthur?"

"Mom always said that you should give a nickname to the people you like to be with. I like being with you." Matthew smiled, "So is it ok?"

He liked being with me? That was a first. But it filled me with happiness nonetheless.

"Yes, it is fine." I conceded, "But I have to leave now. There's some food in the kitchen if you get hungry and my cell phone number is on the note. Can you look after Alfred and the flat for me?"

Matthew nodded then asked, "Then…does this mean we'll get to stay here?"

"Yes."

"And we won't have to move again?"

I hesitated then said, "Hopefully not Matthew."

~.::*::.~

Actually acquiring the documents was not much of a hassle, the problem lied in how Alfred's guardian would react to my plan. Needless to say, I was more than just a _bit _nervous as I sat across from Ms. Williams in her living room with the documents in hand.

"Ms. Williams," I began hesitantly but gained confidence as I continued, "I found a way the boys can stay in my flat without any trouble or worry on your part. All I need is your support, or more importantly your signature."  
I was dancing around the subject; it was a very bad habit I developed when I spoke about delicate topics like this.

"I don't see where this is going." Her eyes darted to the documents in my hands. I deliberately placed the documents down on the coffee table between us so she could see what they were.

Without further confusing the woman, I took the opposite route and forced myself to go straight to the heart of the subject, "If, with your permission, I was able to, ah—_marry_ Alfred. Then all responsibility for him and his brother can land on me and you as their guardian will not be bothered in the least."

She didn't answer.

I quickly added, "Of course this idea of marriage— It would only be a…a legal device through which I can take care of the boys. After Alfred turns 18 and is able to take care of himself we can um…divorce, I suppose, and he can go his own way."

She _still_ didn't answer.

"Um…Ms. Williams?" her expression was starting to scare me.

At first she shook her head looking away. Then when she looked back up at me, she finally started to talk, each word carefully chosen, "So, you're suggesting that you— _marry_ Alfred just so you can take care of them?"

"Precisely." I answered, relieved that she had recovered and added, "All I need is your signature and all responsibility for them will come to me."

"But in marriage…The idea of marriage…" She shook her head again, laughing lightly, "When you marry someone isn't it supposed to be for love?"

I smiled sadly, "I often thought of marriage that way as well. But at this point all I want to do is help these two boys. And…if Alfred finds love in someone else, of course, I will let him go. Please think of this as just another way for me to become Alfred's guardian."

Eventually she agreed and signed the documents. With that, both my and Alfred's signature would make the marriage fully legal and valid in the eyes of the law.

Just as I left I head Ms. Williams say, "Thank you Mr. Kirkland. I do hope they will be happy with you." I only nodded, as if to say I hoped so too.

~.::*::.~

When I returned home, Alfred was still asleep. Matthew explained that Alfred had a hard time falling asleep the night before and I couldn't help but feel like that was my fault. I was the one that agreed to the marriage after all.  
But it had to be done now, so as I set the documents on the dining table I asked Matthew to fetch Alfred.  
Gwin had also woken up and greeted me with a drowsy good morning. Before Alfred and Matthew arrived, I allowed her to flip through the documents. She was a curious faerie and was always interested in, well, anything.

I only briefly asked Alfred to sign in the few areas where needed and I set out to fill up the rest of the pages. I did not tell him about his guardian's signature of approval, if he wanted to know he would ask.  
I bent over the paper and filled in the general information as I heard Alfred ask, "Are you serious? You _do_ realize you're my _teacher_, right?"

I didn't bother responding when the answer was obvious.  
Of course I realized I was his teacher! He wasn't the only one who had trouble falling asleep the previous night.

"Are you really sure?" He spoke up again and once again I didn't answer, but I did stop writing after his next statement, "…but…I'd be grateful if you can take care of Matt."

I didn't look up from the paper as I scanned over what I had finished writing.  
"Well then there's no problem, don't you think?" I answered.

"But—" He started just as I finished signing my name, completing the document.

"There." I said as I held up the papers for them to see, "From tomorrow onwards we'll be enjoying a new lifestyle."

"Congratulations Arthur!" Gwin cheered.  
I couldn't help but smile and wonder how long this treasured bliss would last.

~.::*::.~  
_There you have it.  
What started as a moment's impulse soon became what I would later consider to be one of the happiest times of my life.  
_~.::*::.~

* * *

**Author Note:** ~Ok New Characters: Julian Livius = Ancient Rome. ^_^ and Arthur's little guardian Faerie: Gwin~ ((I might be drawing a design of her and posting it to deviantart. If I do I'll put a note here **EDIT: ** I have submitted a preliminary draft for Gwin's design, it's rather simple but if you are interested check my profile for the link))  
Ms. Williams was just a temporary OC, I do not plan to bring her into the story again, she was only used for plot purposes~

Also I've been playing around with the idea of Matthew being able to see and hear Gwin~ since he's still a little kid and all~ good idea? Bad idea? Please tell me what you think~

So there you have it, Arthur's side of the beginning of this story~ Of course I have no idea how the forms for guardianship and marriage work…so this is pretty much all according to my own strange logic…hopefully it is satisfactory. XD

As always, I'll be editing and revising this chapter as well, and that's why all of you should tell me what to improve, yes? In any case there will be changes made to this chapter so be sure to check back, and there might be more changes to Chapter 1 and the Prologue as well.

So if you have a spare moment and you're feeling kind~ Spare me a review? Harsh criticism? Critique?

~ :3

Sneak Preview for **Chapter 3: **Francis finally enters the scene~We also get to know a tidbit of Arthur's past~ and some...UKUS fluff?~maybe :3


	4. 3: Your Smile

**EDIT:**_ Somewhat major revising, diction changed and grammar corrected overall~_

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Author Note: **Much thanks for all the reviews/story favorites and alerts~~  
I was considering cutting this chapter in half... so I would have less to edit...but then that would mean all you you would have to wait on a cliffhanger. And I wouldn't want that to happen now would I?  
But since this is an enormous chapter, it is very likely that there will be a **lot** of editing done on this before i put up the next chapter~

As always, the **harshest** **of constructive criticisms** are welcomed with open arms!

**Warnings: **Mild swearing, Point of view switching around, yaoi, and fluff (i think...)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for this fanfiction~

So without further ado, here is the next chapter~

* * *

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter Three:~::*::~::*::~**

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

"A young _wife_? Only _16-_years-old? _And_ your student?"  
This was an overly dramatic Francis's first reaction when Arthur told him our…situation.

"How obscene! Is zis not illegal?" He managed to say just as Arthur smacked (or more so _punched_) him upside the head. I winced a bit; that must have hurt.  
Matthew, who was standing next to me, scooted a little closer and hid himself partially behind me.

"This is Francis Bonnefoy. He lives next door." Arthur introduced the Frenchman calmly, as if he had not just nearly given said Frenchman a concussion, "He's a part-time college student but he's somehow managed to get a teacher's assistant job at Matthew's elementary school. So we'll have him help us."  
I looked at Francis doubtfully as he rubbed the back of his head; how would he be able to help us?

"Your friend?" I asked.

"Not at all." Arthur said bluntly but then added, "We can trust him though. I've known him for quite a while now."

Somehow, as I talked to Arthur, Francis miraculously recovered and took my hand into his. With a flourish, he bowed as kissed it. I meant to pull away immediately but his following statement caused me to freeze.

" 'Ave you two already done it? If you 'ave not, you are welcome to do it with me."

I only just processed the suggestive innuendo when Arthur rose up behind him with a distinctly dark aura and grabbed the back of Francis's head.

"Bloody. Frog. Mind your manners." If his tone of his voice didn't scare Francis, his expression certainly did.

Francis immediately let go of my hand and ran away from Arthur, who started to uncharacteristically curse and run after Francis with every intent to do physical harm. As I watched the two of them I realized that I never figured out how Arthur managed to conjure up that bat to swing at the Frenchman though.

~.::*::.~**  
**_It had been a few days since our "married" life began and this utterly dense teacher had yet to even touch me since I began to live in his home.  
But…even if he was a teacher, he was still a man—right?  
_~.::*::.~

I fidgeted nervously as I stood in the hallway leaning against the wall right in between Arthur's bedroom door and the bathroom door. Arthur was still taking a shower, so I was waiting for him.  
While I waited I rehearsed what I wanted to say in my head time and time again; and each and every time I thought about it, my stomach clenched together uncomfortably. It only took the sound of the bathroom door opening to snap me out of my thoughts.

"Alfred?" Arthur called out. I flinched in surprise as my mind went blank the moment I turned my head towards him. As I looked over at him, I could feel the telltale blush creep up again.  
His clothing only consisted of long, dark green pajama pants and a soft towel around his neck. He was surprisingly slender and looked a lot smaller than he did without his suit on.  
I quickly averted my eyes and stared down at the wood paneling on the floor of the hall.

"Why are you standing out here? Can't sleep?" he asked as he walked over to me. I didn't trust myself to speak just yet so I just nodded. I finally looked up at him when he said, "Well then, that's nothing a good cup of tea won't cure."  
I was planning on refusing the tea, but for some reason I couldn't say no to that smile he gave, so we headed to the kitchen.

I stood on one side of the kitchen, leaning against the countertop, as I watched Arthur go around and ready the tea. It was a fairly narrow kitchen, much like the hallway, so there were a few times when he had to brush past me. At that point, I was ready to give up on what I wanted to say and just go to bed, but this issue…it had to be dealt with or I would never be able to sleep.

Just as everything was set and we were waiting for the water to boil, Arthur turned around leaned against the counter opposite of me, crossing his arms.  
"So," He looked straight at my eyes, which were doing everything to avoid looking at him, "you look like you want to say something."

I had long since lost my so-called rehearsed speech when my mind first blanked out, so I just ended up mumbling, "Well…It's been a few days…"

"Since you have started to live here," Arthur finished for me, "yes? And?"

"And…well…" I never thought it would be _this_ difficult to talk about. My face heated up again as I looked away to gather my thoughts, blaming Arthur mentally for scrambling them up.  
Just as I looked back, he was suddenly a lot closer. There was then only a bit less than a foot of space between us.

"And, what?" He asked again. He uncrossed his arms and his hands then rested on his waist. I noticed that as small as he looked he was still fairly tall, only about an inch below my own height.

"We…" I remembered what Francis had asked me earlier that same day and the words suddenly tumbled out before I could stop them, "We haven't d-done it yet right? If we are, let's get it over with already!"

I watched as Arthur's eyes quickly widened, his lips parted ever so slightly in surprise. At first I thought he was going to turn and leave, but he had just stepped closer.  
I felt a sudden urge to back away, but the counter was already pressed against my lower back so all I could do was look down at Arthur. He didn't look so surprised anymore and his eyes were no longer so wide. He soon came so close that I remembered seeing little drops of water left over from his shower still stuck in his long lashes and the tips of his damp hair.

Out of the blue I found my glasses were suddenly slipped off from the bridge of my nose. Arthur had used one hand to remove them. What made our position more awkward was the fact that he slipped his hand between my side and my arm to put the glasses on the counter behind me. I gulped as I felt my heartbeat increase rapidly, bringing more blood than necessary to my face.

Without a word, Arthur then brought up one hand and cupped it around my cheek. Abruptly, fear shot through me as I reflexively screwed my eyes shut and tucking my chin down slightly as my shoulders tensed.

**~::*::~Arthur Kirkland~::*::~**

I sighed inaudibly as Alfred swiftly scrunched up his eyes and stiffened at my slightest touch.  
Who put such a topic into his mind? Wait…it was that frog, was it not? I made a mental note to whack Francis the next time I saw him.

Gently I brushed my thumb back and forth over the bright red skin. A part of me couldn't help but smile at Alfred's reaction, but it really was much too early for him to even be considering things like that.  
I moved my hand up to push aside the bangs blocking his forehead. And since his head was already tilted down I had no trouble reaching up to kiss his forehead lightly.

Almost immediately I saw a small movement as his eyes snapped open. As I pulled away I could easily see confusion clouding up the normally clear blue irises. But before he could say anything I picked up his glasses and placed them back in their rightful spot.

"Alfred. You don't have to think about such things. You will just end up worrying needlessly." I attempted a smile in hopes to comfort him. However Alfred never did answer back and from his expression I could not tell if he was relieved…or disappointed.

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

~.::*::.~  
_…Maybe he didn't plan on touching me after all.  
It was then that I finally began to think that he was really just trying to help Matt and me.  
Oh well, whatever it could be, we would have to keep this lifestyle hidden for Matt's sake.  
_~.::*::.~

But keeping the fact that we now lived with Arthur secret seemed to become very hard for me when we were at school. It didn't help that I got a heart attack when Arthur nearly slipped and almost called on me in class by my first name and many times even I nearly slipped and called him "Arthur" instead of "Mr. Kirkland" or just "Teach" like I used to.

My solution was to avoid him in every way possible while we were at school so we wouldn't arouse any suspicion. But even this was easier said than done.  
Arthur seemed to try to talk to me much more often than usual…but maybe…

Maybe because I was so scared of the chance that we would have to move _again_ that I was letting my worry make me become more paranoid than I should have been.

The only time I allowed myself to talk to him was just after school ended up on the rooftop where no one else was technically allowed to go.

"What is with you? Aren't you the one who should be worried about being discovered?" I exclaimed as soon as we made sure there was no one else up on the roof. I only got more frustrated when he chuckled slightly before covering his mouth with his hand.

"Forgive me" He said as he stopped laughing, "_but_, it was rather amusing to see you so fluster—" He didn't finished and I began to wonder why when his hand suddenly touched the side of my face like it did the previous night. " Have I worried you to the point of your having this sort of expression?" he asked softly as his voice itself began to sound apologetic. I started to blink furiously as the anger boiling in my chest instead turned towards me, admonishing me for becoming so emotional and so _attached_ to Arthur and his home. I must have looked panicked and about to cry.

"I…! I wasn't planning on crying!" I explained, trying to keep my pride intact, "It's just—I don't want to have to move again."

"You won't have to." Arthur reassured me gently as his hand went up to smooth down my hair, "I'm sorry." Under different circumstances, I would have long since backed away but somehow I didn't mind his trying to comfort me.

"I'm so sorry, that you had to go through all that before. But you are fine now because…" he paused thoughtfully, "well, I enjoy being with you and Matthew, even if I sometimes don't act like it. So what if this began because of an impulsive moment? It's _ok_ Alfred. You don't have to worry anymore."

The little pats on my hair, his smile, his confidence, his words…everything about him really comforted me. And for the first time in the longest time, I truly felt secure about my life.

~.::*::.~

Back at Arthur's flat…no wait, _home_, I started to notice Matt was carrying around a jar with a shoulder strap with around two layers of marbles lining the bottom. When I took a closer look though, I found that he was making a collection of that hard candy.

At the end of dinner, when Francis had left and I was standing next to Arthur to wash dishes I asked him about it.  
"Why is Matt collecting the candy?"

"Well, Matthew's been helping me quite a bit around the flat, so he saves the rewards that I give to him."

I looked over at the dinner table where Matt was doing his homework, the jar sitting in front of him; he had already earned so many little candies. "Wow." I said.

"I dare say." Arthur started, smirking slightly, " He is probably doing more than you."

"What?" My head snapped back to him sharply, in the process the dish in my hands nearly slipped through my fingers. I quickly turned my attention to it as I flushed embarrassedly.

Because if what he said _was_ true, I had to find a way to be more helpful in this household!

~.::*::.~

The first thing I did was enlist Francis's help so I could cook some breakfast. The actual cooking wasn't the hard part, it was waking up before Arthur did that was difficult. But somehow I did it and even though my breakfast was simply toast and eggs both Arthur and Matt enjoyed eating it.  
I also started to go shopping for food and other necessities with Arthur and helped him carry them on the way back home.  
Unfortunately I never stopped to wonder if I was seen outside of school with him, it would get the rumor mill to start turning among the students that knew me.

Though, as time went on, I began to learn bits and pieces about Arthur and his past.  
After school, I would leave first to go pick up Matt from his elementary school, partially because it was force of habit and partially because I wasn't ready to trust Francis to look after my baby brother.

One afternoon I had asked is Arthur had always wanted to teach and the answer Francis gave me was surprising to say the least.

"Ah, Arthur used to be really bad in ze past." Francis started.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded.

"Do you want to see a picture? It is like my lucky charm~." He grinned slightly as he pulled out a picture from his wallet.

To tell the truth, it was a fairly scary picture and I swore I could see a dark aura surrounding Arthur. He looked about 19 years old and Francis was behind him, about 16 or 17 I guessed. However, where Francis was grinning almost jovially, Arthur was glaring at the camera with a scowl, his brow furrowed and altogether he looked threatening, especially with that worn out and dented baseball bat he held over his shoulder. Most noticeably I saw that his hair was much longer and if possible, much more unruly.

As I stared at the picture in my hands, Francis added as an afterthought, "I zink zat after the picture ze cameraman was beaten up by Arthur. 'E was the leader, and I was number two." He pouted a bit at his last statement. It was evident that he didn't want to be known as the second in command but with the intimidating look on Arthur's face in the snapshot, I don't think he had a choice.

I then asked what it was that Arthur was the leader of…but Francis chose to remain mum on the subject and only mentioned that he had already said more than he should have. Instead he changed the subject and told me that right after Arthur decided to be a teacher, he stopping being bad altogether. He also said that I may not have noticed but he really worked hard to reach the teaching position.

It was after I was told all that from Francis that I finally noticed that Arthur never went to sleep earlier than me or Matt. Since we didn't mind, Arthur continued to work in his study in the evening when Matt and I were going to sleep. He kept a small light at the worktable that was over laden with a computer, telephone and various books and papers; the light was bright enough for him to work comfortably and dim enough for us to be able to sleep.

Sometimes I rolled over on my side and all I did was watch his back as I fell asleep. I noted his little habits, like always wearing headphones and listened to rock music while he worked and reviewed the next day's history lesson.

~.::*::.~  
_Somehow…with every passing day,  
I felt a small feeling start to pile up into the hole carved in my heart  
…and it made me all the more attached to him.  
_~.::*::.~

"You have a lot now." I said as I looked over Matt's shoulder at the nearly full jar of candy. I was surprised that he had managed to keep all of it and not eat any of it yet, given his incredible sweet tooth. It seemed it was some sort of trophy for him as he held it up proudly and the light that hit the spheres caused the candy to sparkle slightly.  
He then went to show it to Arthur as soon as he came home.

"Artie, Look!" He held it up so Arthur could see.

Bending down to Matt's eye level he smiled and said, "Oh? You have saved up quite a bit! Since it is impressive, you get another reward!"  
Ah. So that was how Matt managed to get so many hard candies in such a short time; Arthur was being way too lavish with his rewards. But I don't blame him, if it was with Matt, I would probably be the same way.  
After our parents died, my life began to revolve around Matt and I was all worked up because I thought I was the only one who could protect him.

But…

It should be ok now.

**~::*::~Arthur Kirkland~::*::~**

I knew things were improving for Alfred when I heard some of the teachers in the teacher's lounge talking among themselves.

"Recently, Alfred Jones has become nicer, don't you think?"

"Ah yeah, more generous too."

"I wonder if it's because he was taken to a good place this time."

I was hiding behind a large history book as I listened to them from across the table. I must have been smiling since Gwin laughed. From where she was sitting on the top of the history book she said "It's been a while since I've seen you so happy."

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

"A-Alfred? Um…Here!" At the end of the school day I found a little wrapped up packet of candy thrust towards me. A handful of wrapped candy was tied up in a red tinted see-through plastic.

"mm?" I looked at the person who was offering it to me, trying to recognize her.

"I-It's just candy…And it's 'thank you' for helping me before. If you would like it that is…"  
I suddenly remembered that it was the girl I had saved from bullies some time ago. She had stuttered nervously the whole time and I didn't blame her; many students had tried to give me tokens of thanks and I ended up refusing them all.  
But this time, I took the little bag in my hand. Looking down at it I thought back to Arthur.

" 'Reward'…huh?" I mumbled under my breath, more to myself than the girl.

Confused she looked up at me, "Um, If you don't want it…"

I looked straight at her, "No. Thanks for this." Naturally I gave her a small smile and proceeded to walk away. And in doing so I never saw the shocked look on my classmates faces as well as the blushes that fell over many of their faces as well.

Instead, on the way out of the classroom, I looked over at Arthur and realized that he had been watching and listening to the entire thing, just like the rest of the class. A familiar tickle of heat rose up my cheeks and ears and I forced myself to look away, finally leaving the classroom with the image of Arthur's small smile burned into my brain.

~.::*::.~

I hadn't thought much of taking the token of thanks, but apparently Arthur had, and he was somehow very happy about it.

"Welcome home Arth—hey! What are you—?" I thought I was just going to be able to welcome him home as usual but as soon as he came in he started to ruffle my hair fondly, causing my glasses to go askew as he did.

"Good job Alfred! I saw what you did!" He exclaimed, "You get a reward too!"

~.::*::.~

Arthur had only quickly said that there was something he wanted me to see before he told me to wear my jacket and get ready to go out. Just before leaving we left Matt in Francis's care next door although it seemed Francis had…ah, company (maybe his girlfriend?) with him. I felt we had interrupted something but Arthur told me not to worry about it; Francis apparently was a big softie when it came to children and he just couldn't say no to Matt.

I was fairly impressed when Arthur started up his motorcycle to drive us to where he planned to take me. It wasn't a long drive and when we finally stopped I saw that we were at the harbor. I never knew that this town was so close to the sea. I quickly took off the helmet and handed it to Arthur as I got off to get closer to the water.

It was a full moon that night and there was also a steady breeze. The wind was causing small ripples to form in the water, and every so often each tiny wave would catch the light of the moon and glitter briefly before turning black again. A salty scent filled the air and across the harbor I could only just see the outline of buildings that were spotted with lights. Except for the sound of the wind and the water the harbor was completely devoid of sound or movement; Arthur and I were the only ones out there on the pier.

Looking back at Arthur, I noticed that he had yet to get off the motorcycle. The motorcycle itself was an older model and despite it looking well used it worked perfectly.

"Arthur, where did you learn to ride a motorcycle?" I asked curiously.

"Eh?" He flushed slightly as he looked away and coughed lightly into his hand, "I was uh…a delinquent child…once."

"Are you good at fighting then?"

"Well enough I suppose, but I haven't fought in a while…however I _do_ know that I'm still stronger than Francis." I could sense a bit of pride as he spoke, but he quickly changed the subject away from his past.

"Anyway, about this place…since we cannot go very far right now…it's not that incredible but…" through his fragmented sentences I could see how he cast his eyes out at the ocean. There was some sort of deep longing in him. And although he didn't say it out loud, he must have loved coming to the harbor.

"No." I said smiling broadly, "It's been a while since I've been at a place as peaceful as this. Thanks Arthur."

He turned his eye away from the sea and instead to me. At first he seemed mildly surprised then he gave me a gentle smile, one that brought that uncomfortable knot in my stomach. But…it really was a wonderful smile.

"…Just like that." He said softly, "I want you to keep smiling Alfred. Even in the future…" he trailed off and we stayed there in silence to enjoy the tranquility of the harbor until it became cold enough for Arthur to see me shiver. I tried to hide it because I could tell how happy he was here, but in the end I let him drive us both back.

I took that chance to wrap my arms tightly around his torso as we rode back and with each passing moment I grew more nervous.  
Because I knew, I had the sudden urge to be closer to him, to be able to touch him…

The drive seemed much shorter than before and I soon followed him up the stairs to our flat. When I followed him inside and saw him slip off his jacket to put in the closet, I could help but notice that the simple long sleeved black shirt he wore fit snugly around his slender body—  
…!

I forced my wandering mind to stop as I crossed my arms over my stomach, which was, if possible, clenching even tighter. I groaned softly at the strange discomfort and wondered if I was possibly falling sick or something.

Hearing me, Arthur turned around and looked at me worriedly, "Alfred? What happened?"

Before I could answer, the door bell rang. A deep voice soon followed.

"Mr. Kirkland, are you there? It's Hetalia High's Braginski."

Both Arthur and I froze in our spots; why was Coach Braginski here! As he knocked and started to talk again I fumbled towards the shoe closet and opened it. It would be a tight fit if I hid in here, but it was a hiding spot none the less.

"It was just that there was a rumor that you were hanging around with a student outside of school recently. And since I'm also a Student Guidance Councilor…" There was a pause and then the doorknob turned, "Ah, It opened?"  
We had only just gotten home so Arthur hadn't locked the door!  
"I'm coming in." the giant Russian announced.

I felt Arthur grab my shoulders and push me into the closet. In his panic he also went in and closed the door with a soft click. I had managed to turn around just as we were packed in, but Arthur's push had caused me to stumble slightly, so now my back was pressed against the far wall and the bottom of my feet were pressed against the closed door. Now that position wasn't exactly uncomfortable…but it was rather awkward, especially with Arthur there.

When I had stumbled, Arthur had too, and now he was practically sitting on my lap. His forearms and hands were rested against the wall on either side of my head and his torso was bent over me with his face all but a few inches above my own.

At that point all I could hear was the slight shuffling of the Russian as he looked around, and the frantic thudding of my own heart. Coach Braginski muttered to himself, "hmm, There seems to be the presence of a teenager…I don't know if it's our school's though." As we heard him walk away he also mentioned, "It's unsafe to leave the door unlocked though, I'll have to let him know next time."

At that point my mind was back to focusing on the warm figure directly in front of me. He was too close. Sure it was dark, but his breath was falling lightly on my forehead and his warmth was already making me dizzy, or was it just the extra blood that was pumped to my face?  
He was too much…

Slowly, he shifted his hands slightly so he pull back enough to look down at me. Numbly I suddenly felt his hand on my cheek, coaxing me to look up.  
He was too close…

"Alfre—"

Reflexively I shot out my hands and pushed him to the far corner of the closet and scrambled away to the opposing corner. Just as I had done this the closet door had opened to reveal Matt and a rather smug Francis.

"Found you~" Matt triumphantly pointed at the two of us as if he had just been crowned king of hide and seek.

"Oh, I am sorry." Francis smirked, "Did we interrupt you two?" It seemed he had got to exact revenge on Arthur, since we had interrupted him earlier when we left Matt in his care.  
As surprised as I was, that was the first time I had ever seen Arthur turn bright red, and if I wasn't in a similar state I would have been amused.

~.::*::.~

The next day, even at school I found myself thinking back to the previous evening. I just couldn't get that strange dizzying sensation out of my head from being so close to Arthur, however something happened in class that day that drove that sensation away.

It was still homeroom when one of the students raised their hand.

"Mr. Kirkland, I have a question."

"Yes, Ms. Sumita, what is it?"

"Is the rumor about you going out with a student in our school true?" I felt my heartbeat freeze for a moment, hastily I tried to keep a stoic expression on my face. I stared up at Arthur, waiting worriedly for his answer.

At the girl's question, murmurs broke out among the class.  
"Are you serious?"  
"Who is it?"  
"Who?"

"Wait a minute!" Arthur brought back the class's attention, "You shouldn't believe it when I haven't said anything…and besides, it's too bad for all of you but the rumour's false. I'm not _going out_ with anyone." Well technically since he was legally married he wasn't going out with anyone, so he wasn't lying. I would have relaxed there and then, but the class's response got me on edge again.

"That's what I thought. If you touch a student, You'll get fired. Definitely."  
"And isn't that a crime? It's disgusting."

"Ok, Ok, I understand. Now back to the morning announcements." Arthur sighed as he forced the class to move on. Just briefly he looked over at me and all I could do was stare back.

My heart had suddenly dropped to the bottom of my stomach with guilt. Arthur wouldn't have had to deal with all this if I wasn't living with him…

~.::*::.~

When the bell rang at the end of the day I found myself up on the roof again with Arthur.

"Isn't this bad?" I asked, "Us standing on the roof, especially when there's a rumor going around?"

Arthur smiled regardlessly, "It's fine, I locked the door anyway."

He paused slightly as a slight gust of wind came and ruffled his hair, "You probably don't remember but…I should tell you that I have already received a reward from you."  
A reward from me? When did I give Arthur a reward?

I listened quietly for once to his narrative.

"_One year ago, when I first became a teacher at this school, they asked me to give a speech as a new teacher in front of all the students." Arthur was standing nervously outside of the auditorium._

_He had placed his hands on the back wall, straightened his arms and let his head droop down between them so he was staring at the ground. He had been quite a delinquent before so he was horribly worried that he would slip and end up cursing or using some sort of slang during the speech and it didn't help that he kept telling himself that he "couldn't mess up!"_

_I was passing by because I wasn't interested in staying for the ceremony and I had noticed him._

"_Are you ok?" I asked. _

_Surprised he looked over at me, so _he_ was the new teacher.  
"Yes I am fine…Are you skipping the ceremony?"_

"_I'm going home" I frowned, "since the new house's been decided." He stared at me questioningly and I knew he had no idea about my situation at that time. Reaching into my pocked I took out a wrapped candy that I was saving to eat later._

"H_ere." I tossed it over to him; He really looked like he needed it more than me. I didn't know why but I just wanted him to feel at least a bit more confident, "Think it's a lucky charm and eat it once your speech goes well."_

"I didn't get to see that student's smile ever since." Arthur concluded and walked up to me, "Alfred, you always had a sense of justice, but you were so hard to get close to. I wanted to help you, the one whose eyes saddened every time his address changed. Right now, the reward for me is your smile Alfred."

But even though he said all that, and told me not to worry about anything.

I already knew.

How every day he would have a staring contest with the teaching material until late into the night.

How he checked all the problems pointed out in class within that same day.

He loved that job, didn't he?

Even before he met me, he loved it, right?

~.::*::.~

The one day Arthur said that he would be coming home a bit later than usual, I managed to go out and get the divorce papers. Filling out as much that made sense to me I left the rest on his dining table.

"I'm going out, ok Matt?" I was trying to say goodbye to Matt as he sat at the dinner table, "If I stay here I'll just trouble Arthur. But…you can stay here, ok?"

At first he didn't answer and just squeezed Kumajirou tighter in his arms, then he suddenly let the polar bear drop to the ground and ran up to me. He wrapped his arms around my torso and I could hear his muffled voice, "I'll protect Alfie!"  
It was then I noticed the little jar that he had finally filled up to the top and the strap went around his neck

"You received a lot, didn't you," I whispered as I came down to his eye level.  
Just as we left, I was always walking ahead of Matt, and since I could always hear his footsteps behind me I never needed to look back. That was why I didn't notice him opening the candy jar.

~.::*::.~  
_So much…_

_So much love filled that memory.  
It was fun.  
I was happy…_

_Even though he had given us so much love,  
I...  
would endanger his happiness._

_That's why it was already enough,  
I refused to let him to ruin his career over me._

~.::*::.~

**~::*::~Arthur Kirkland~::*::~**

I felt bad for going home so late that day, but the teacher board meeting was unavoidable even though we barely got _anything_ done during it. Sighing I unlocked the front door and I wasn't surprised when Alfred and Matt weren't there to greet me.

They were probably already going to sleep…or so I thought. It was definitely more quiet than usual and when I saw that all the lights were off I panicked and checked every room, only to find myself alone.

While I was running my hand through my hair in frustration, Gwin suddenly called me over to the dining table and what I saw there nearly gave me a heart attack. There sat divorce papers and a small note in Alfred's handwriting:

_Arthur- I want to thank you for your help, but I've realized that the longer I stay here the more risky it gets for you. I don't want you to lose your job over me when you've already worked so hard to get it. So I'm leaving, please don't worry about us. –Alfred._

Suddenly enraged I slammed down the note on the table, but I was careful not to hit it too hard, else it would likely break. Why did he have to over think all of this? What was he going to gain from leaving? Looking at the divorce paper I folded it in half and ripped it up, letting the shreds fall to the ground. Now that I had let out a bit of my frustration, it was time to look for him.

"Arthur" Gwin started hesitantly. I glanced at her and understood; The sun had set and Gwin's powers could only be fully used during the day; she was essentially powerless at night. So she couldn't help me search for them.

"I will find them Gwin." I promised, "I will find them."

Putting my jacket back on I bolted out of the flat and down the steps. I was glad that I had not lost much of the strength I had a few years ago. As I got out into the street I looked both ways; this time around Alfred would likely take the train and go a bit farther away, but there was a train station in either direction; where was I going to start?

Suddenly I heard a crunch as I stepped on something solid on the sidewalk. In the dim streetlight I saw it sparkle, "Candy?"

I looked up and down the road and glinting in the street lights was a small line of candy, the breadcrumb trail that would lead me straight to them. Matthew certainly was a bright boy, more than his brother I would say.

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

"Aah, What should we do from now on…" I wondered out loud as I leaned farther against the hard bench at the train station platform, "There's no foster home nearby here. I'll have to quit school…Oh well, If I can't find one I'll just lie about my age and do night jobs."

The were a rattling and rumbling noise as I saw a headlight and the train finally pulled into the station.

"Hey! Matt! Train's here." I motioned for Matt to follow me, but when I didn't hear him walk towards the train I turned to look at him. He had his back to me and was looking out at the path from which we had arrived.

"Matt." I tried again, then again, "…Matt! Hey!" he was ignoring me and he continued to silently look out at the dark path.

Deliberatly I went over to him and grabbed his hand, my voice a bit softer now, "Let's go. Matt!"  
I pulled a bit and he finally turned around and I noticed tears in his eyes. I understood what…no, _who_ he was looking for.

"Alfie, no!" he pulled against me and cried out, "Why?"  
I turned my face away from him and towards the train; I couldn't let Matt let me wait another moment in this town, else I would never be able to step on that train. I resolutely took another step, dragging Matt with me when he suddenly cried out again.

"You like Artie right?" he sniffed loudly, "If you like him, why? Let's go back!"  
Now even I was tearing up. I couldn't stand it, I never found it this hard to leave any other house; Why was Arthur's so different?

My first tear fell when I heard the steady thumps of another person's running footsteps come onto the platform. I finally looked back, knowing exactly who would be standing there, completely out of breath and frantic.

Arthur Kirkland…

He didn't stop though, he continued to advance and I turned around fully as I let go of Matt's hand. Why did he go so far for us? Why did he care? My knees trembled suddenly and just as he came forward to wrap his arms around me I collapsed to the ground. But he still didn't let go.

Burying his eyes in my shoulder he tightened his hold around me.

"You…git. I will not let you go." He said tersely, "Nothing has even begun yet!"

Both Matt's and my tears were freely flowing now. So for better or worse, I knew then that I would never want to leave Arthur again.

As he pulled back he held up my head with both of his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away the trickles of salty water. Gently he put his forehead on mine and declared,

"I will keep both the teacher's job and your smile." He then brought Matt into our group hug and said, "You both are really important to me. I want us to stay together, always…"

~.::*::.~

_This memory…  
This heart…  
will never be empty again.  
Ever again…  
forever._

~.::*::.~

_**~Omake~**_

"Hey…Arthur…"

"Yes?"

"Umm…To tell you the truth…I've never kissed anyone in my life." Immediately I knew it was a bad idea to confess that to him as I saw his smirk.

"Really? Then this'll be fun."

"Fun?"

"Then let's try this." He suddenly came much too close and I tried to back away but ended up falling to the floor from the living room sofa.

"Aahhh!"

It turned out that he wasn't trying to make a move at all and he was just poking fun at me, so I tried to wrestle him…only to be pinned down, then pinned down again…and again…and yet again.

How can someone so small and slender be so strong?

**~::*::~General POV~::*::~**

On the way to school the next morning Francis was talking to Matthew, who happened to witness Alfred and Arthur's wrestling.

"So, were zey nice to each other last night?" Francis asked.

Matthew answered with a bright smile, "They were wrestling."

"Really?"

Essentially the information was leaked to the neighbor.

* * *

A/N: Wah...Much. Too. Big...=_=

But I hope this chapter was a good one, despite its gigantor size~ of course future edits/revisions will be made.

As usual, constructive criticisms/reviews are much appreciated!

Also I have a question: Should Matthew be able to see Gwin?~ I'm contemplating letting that happen 'cause Matt is still an adorable little boy~ please tell me what you think~


	5. 4: A Place to Land

**EDIT: 20 Feb: **Dialogue accents fixed up~

Author's Note: As always, I'm grateful for everyone that is reading my fanfic!

Please note that Edits and Revisions _will _be made.

**Warnings: **Light swearing, Yaoi, possible grammatical/spelling errors…

**Disclaimer: **Kisu Yori mo and Hetalia don't belong to me no matter how much I wish they did~

* * *

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter Four: A Place to Land~::*::~::*::~**

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

~::*::~  
_We've lost the place where we can belong_

_And while floating_

_We've always been looking for a place_

_Where these legs can land upon  
_~::*::~

"Move it, you fat pig!" I heard the insult as one of the boys in my class bumped into a girl and pushed her aside. Irritated, I turned to face the scene to save the damsel of the day.

"_You_ move it." I said as I took his head with one hand and pushed him against the wall, "And don't ever call a girl 'fat'!" The boy's head hit the wall with a loud noise and he vehemently cursed at me as he ran off.  
It was because I did things like this that caused people to label me a violent person…

But I had only become like this because I had long since given up on expecting an adult's help, especially over the past two years until, well, until Matt and I began to live with Arthur Kirkland, my homeroom and History teacher.

Through a series of unbelievable events, Arthur and I had gotten married so we could live with a sense of stability in our life. During the time we spent there with him, his generous affection had not only melted Matt's, but my own heart that couldn't believe in an adult any longer.

~::*::~

One evening, after Matt had already gone to sleep I was putting everything I needed in my backpack for the next day when I came across a small book about the American Civil War we were reading in class. I had borrowed it from Arthur since I left mine at school.  
Planning to give it back to him, I looked over at Arthur who was bent over some papers at the desk on the other side of the study.

"Arthur," I got up from the side of the bed and walked over to him, "Thanks for letting me borrow this."

He didn't answer at first. His eyebrows were scrunched together as he scribbled down a few notes on the paper, occasionally glancing at a large textbook. I saw his lips were moving minutely as he mumbled under his breath.  
I think he finally saw me from the corner of his eyes because after a moment he sat back and took off his headphones.

"Alfred? I am sorry; my ears were blocked so I could not hear you."

I had momentarily forgotten what it was I wanted to say since I was looking down at his notes with some curiosity.  
"Is it ok for me to look at that?" I asked, gesturing towards his papers because for all I knew he could have been getting the next history test ready and he'd never let me see the notes for something like that.

"Go ahead, it is just tomorrow's lesson plan."

Without realizing how close I was getting to him, I put one hand on the back of his swivel chair and bent down over his shoulder. Just looking at the various notes made my brain hurt; History was definitely not my strong point.

"It must be really hard for you to work this hard every night. I always thought that being a teacher would be an easier job." I commented as I turned my head to look at him and he did the same, laughing slightly. It really was a nice sound.

"Yes, I thought that too, at first." He admitted.  
A blanket of silence fell over the two of us as I struggled to remember why I had gone up to him. However, my brain functions were rather distracted as I realized that I was only but a few inches away from Arthur. He seemed to be oddly focused on my face and I had to break my eyes away from his to properly recall what I wanted to do.  
Subconsciously my left hand grew tighter around the Civil War book, I glanced at it briefly and managed to stutter out, "Um, here. And…thanks, for everything…everyday. I'll be sure to try to study as hard as you work."

I straightened up, gave him a bright smile, and held out the book for him to take, but for some reason he didn't even look at the book; his eyes remained on me. It wasn't a hard stare, he just looked…I just couldn't describe it; all I knew was that it unnerved me a little.  
In any case he still didn't answer, so I placed the book on his desk.

"Ah well, I'll just keep it here then. And since you're working so hard—I'll go pour some tea—" Spending some time in the kitchen away from Arthur would definitely calm down my racing heart to say the least. I turned to leave as fast as I could but suddenly Arthur grabbed my left hand.

"No, no. You do not have to do that." He insisted in a quiet voice as his hand pulled on mine and drew me closer. Hesitantly I turned to face him again, only for my face to return to that familiar red hue at his next action.  
Despite Arthur not being very good at expressing himself and always being uptight, he really seemed to loosen up in the evenings. Somehow he tended to become more…more…what's the word?—Romantic?

Yep, that's it—Romantic.

Since he tended to be like _that_, he brought my hand up and brushed his lips just barely across the skin over my fingers. The skin he touched began to tingle lightly as I turned redder.  
He only smiled and said, "That smile just now was good enough for me to want to keep working."

I pulled away sharply, more out of reflex than voluntary action, and immediately regretted my sudden movement. But he continued to smile none-the-less.

"Good night Alfred."

As I went to the study's large bed and slipped under the covers next to Matt I realized that it had already been one month since we started to live together. Yet, despite us being married—we did nothing that a married couple would actually do…

We didn't sleep in the same room (much less the same bed)…

The last time I thought he was going to make a move on me ended up in a wrestling match…

And… the worst part…

We hadn't even kissed yet!

~::*::~

"Good Morning!" Francis cheerfully greeted us as we left the apartment. He had classes in the evening for collage so he often walked Matt to school for me.  
"As usual you guys are dazzling, ze high school wife and obscene teacher~. 'Ow was it? Did you two do it yesterday too?" His innuendos were unending, but thankfully he was never explicit when Matt was around.

And out came colorful cursing on Arthur's part and the baseball bat; I really needed to figure out where Arthur kept that thing…  
Of course, with Arthur running after Francis practically every morning, it saved me the energy of running after the Frenchman myself and beating him up for calling me a "wife."

As I thought about the nature of our marriage I also figured that Arthur _was_ a teacher.  
So maybe this marriage was just a sudden action of helping out his pitiful student.

But I…

~::*::~

Before homeroom at school that same day, I noticed a large group of girls giggling about something. They were loud enough for me to hear since I was sitting next to them, so I wasn't really eavesdropping.

They seemed to be talking about a ring that one of them had.  
"Wah~ it's beautiful. Is it from your boyfriend?" One of her friends asked, and the blushing girl sitting at the desk nodded. Another girl that sat ahead of her hand turned around in her seat and commented, "How romantic. It's your 'seal of love' isn't it?"

I watched them surreptitiously from my peripheral vision, and through their talking the idea of having a ring floated through my head. It was customary for a married couple to each have a ring right?  
I looked down at my hands, specifically the left one, and I tried to imagine how it would look with a ring on. But every time I tried imagining it, the image only stayed in my mind for a few moments before disappearing and leaving my fingers empty and leaving me disappointed.

"Hey." A voice came from behind me, "I'm looking for someone named Jones who's tryin' to bring about justice?" The voice came closer to me, "Is it you?"

By the tone of his voice I could tell that it was likely some guy and his cronies looking for a fight. I was fairly content with my dazing off and thinking about the ring so I just ignored them in hopes that if I didn't say anything they would just leave me alone.  
As I did so, I tried to project a mental image of just a simple golden band on my left ring finger, a thin plain ring was enough…as long as it was Arthur that gave it to me.  
Outside my awareness some of my classmates that stopped talking and were crowding around nervously because the guys that came into our room were third year students, not second years.

The rough voice continued and pierced into my pleasant daydreaming, breaking the image I had of the simple golden ring, "I heard that you took good care of my subordinate recently…"  
Hmm, did he mean that boy I had tossed against the wall for insulting a girl?

My lack of any sort of response seemed to finally tick off the guy when he raised his voice, "Damn it! Show me your face you little—"

I was already more than a little annoyed at my reverie broken so I took off my glasses and got up to glare at the two third years. I got a twinge of pleasure in noticing that I was, in fact, taller than both of them as I growled impatiently, "You're annoying. Can't you see I'm busy? You want a fight, right? Then come to the backyard of the school this afternoon! I'll face you then!"

Both of them had stepped back and paled considerably, "Ah…alright then."  
They put up a strong façade as they promptly left the classroom. Good riddance I would say.

I sat back down and put my glasses back on. With all the annoyance gone, I let myself daze off again.  
Briefly I looked down at the back of my left hand, right at the skin Arthur had kissed the previous night.  
'_I never thought about it before…so why does it look so empty now?'_ I thought.

~::*::~

By the end of the day, I had long since forgotten about the two third years that I had promised a fight, so I must have annoyed them by not showing up. Instead I headed over to Matt's elementary school as usual, to pick him up.  
When he came out he was proudly wearing an origami hat, though he insisted that it was a samurai helmet.

Although I was laughing at his insistence, as I bent down to examine it I couldn't help but complement him, "You really are coordinated Matt."  
Unlike myself, Matt was very good at using tools and his fingers were fairly deft at creating such crafts. I would probably just end up crumpling the paper up in frustration if I tried origami.

Francis had also come out of the school and walked up to Matt and I. He looked over at Matt and reminded him, "Matthieu, do not forget zat your 'omework is to teach Arthur 'ow to make that 'elmet."

"Yep, I won't forget!" Matt replied as I stood up straight and hesitantly faced Francis.

"Francis…You've been around Arthur for a long time right?" I started slowly, hardly believing that I was going to ask him this…

"Hmm? Yes, about six years maybe?" He answered, "Why?"

I turned my eyes away from him as I asked, "What kind of…of guys does Arthur like?"

Francis looked surprised, "Eh? You are asking for 'is type? But are you two not marri—?"

"Yeah, but we haven't _done_ anything yet…" I cut him off and then quietly wondered aloud, "If I get closer to his taste in men, would he be interested in touching me."

Francis looked positively shocked as I said this, but not for the reason I had initially thought. Instead he seemed angry at Arthur as he cried out in frustration, "Ahh, Arthur—You must be really stupid! Are you just trying to be cool?" Francis then took my shoulders and forced me to look at him, "'E's definitely 'olding back! And with a cute wife like you too!"

I protested indignantly as I tried to get out of his grasp, but for some reason he was keeping me in place just as easily as Arthur had pinned me down when we wrestled, "Sh—shut up! I'm not a wife!"

Francis sighed dramatically before declaring, "Zis is much too sad. I cannot stand on the sidelines! Just leave it to me and follow my guidelines! I know all of Arthur's soft spots!"

~::*::~

That same evening I hatched a simple plan with Matt after he finished teaching Arthur how to make the origami helmet.

"Alfie…Are you really sure about this?" Matt asked doubtfully.

"What?" I answered, "It's not an uncommon thing for a married couple…right?"

"Why are you asking me? You're the one that's married."

According to Francis, I had to be extremely straightforward with Arthur if we were going to get anywhere with our relationship. I wondered why I didn't think of such a thing before, but in any case I decided to try out a simple plan as I waited for Arthur to come into the study as he usually did to start reviewing the teaching material.

Just as there was a light knock on the door, Arthur always seemed to do that because he said it was polite, I got up off the bed and glanced at Matt.  
Matt matched my glance and lightly spoke up, "Come in."

Just as the door was fully open I pointed straight at him and called out, "Arthur!"

Francis had also said that I needed to surprise him because it was no good if I was the only one getting surprised. I stifled a grin when I saw Arthur jump a few feet into the air and stepped back stuttering, "ah…yes?"

His slightly flushed look had taken me off guard, but I had practiced this in my mind way too many times for me to blank out again! There was no way that I'd be letting him slip away, "Tonight!"

"To…night?" he repeated, ready to close the door and back away as I walked forward.  
I gathered all of my confidence into one burst and forced myself to go forward and wrap my arms around his torso for a tight hug, "Will you sleep in my room tonight?"

I didn't need to turn my head to know that Matt had just hit is forehead with his palm; I froze.  
Was I too straightforward? Too dramatic? Did I surprise Arthur too much? _Why wasn't he answering?  
_My mind continued to race through all the worst case scenarios of Arthur's reaction to my request.

Then…

I felt a warm hand patting the hair on the back of my head and a soft sigh. I felt his lips ghost over my ear, "Alright Alfred, I understand…"

It was a moment of triumph! But really…it didn't end up like I thought it would.

I had insisted on staying up until Arthur finished his work so he wouldn't sneak away when I fell asleep. Although he _did_ sleep on the bed in the study, he had made sure Matt was nestled between the two of us because Matt had already gone to bed and he had the habit of falling asleep near the middle.

Just as all the lights were turned off except for the small nightlight in the corner of the room I heard Arthur saying softly, "This is nice…once in a while."  
I didn't look over at him though since I was still envious of Matt's being right next to him and slightly defeated in my goal.

"I am really glad though" Arthur continued in the same low voice, careful not to wake Matt, "I have always longed for something like this."

Finally I was curious enough to turn to my side to see him; he was also lying down on his side facing me. In the dim light I could only just make out the curve of his smile as he continued, "My parents…are still alive. But they have long since broken all ties with me because I was really bad in the past. We had loose connections as a family anyway so I guess it… could not be helped…"

He drifted off quickly into sleep as his eyes drooped closed and his words grew sluggish. I guess he was really tired, that, or it was really easy for him to fall asleep. Quietly I propped myself up on my elbows then, careful not to touch Matt, I reached over and put one hand on his head to pat his hair in the same way he did mine.  
I smiled when I felt how soft the otherwise rough-looking hair was. But that smile left as soon as it came; because overall, my plan had failed.

It was depressing and the next day at school wasn't helping in the least.

~::*::~

"Hey! Alfred Jones!" The third years' voices called out. It was the same guys that challenged me and that I stood up the other day. I really didn't want to try to ignore their yelling so I dragged them out into the backyard of the classroom building and made quick work of them. Although it did relieve me of some of my frustration, I found that I didn't feel any better.

"Ah…Seriously, I was so frustrated by last night that I got into a useless fight' I grumbled under my breath as I walked into the building back to class. But as I turned the corner I came across Arthur, who was standing by the door of the empty Science Lab room that had windows overlooking the backyard.

"Mr. Jones. You really should not fight too much." He scolded lightly then added, "I may not be of any big help but you should consult me when you have some kind of trouble.

I felt my fingers curl up; I suddenly felt angry, but not at him.

When I was already troubling him this much…

When I was already risking his career…

How could I ask for him to like me for "who I was right then?"

I was being too narrow minded, only thinking about myself and not even considering how it would affect Arthur. At this dismal realization my fist relaxed and my shoulders fell limp.

I looked down to avoid his gaze, "I'm ok Mr. Kirkland…I'm sorry."

"…" He didn't answer at first and I didn't even look up as I turned to continue walking to the classroom.  
For the second time I felt my hand being grabbed and pulled towards him.

"Alfred." He said; I tensed up since we were still at school, "I am sorry but.."  
With his other hand he opened the Lab door and pulled me inside. Just as he closed the door behind him, he had whirled me around into the class and directly in front of him.  
Without warning he pulled me into a firm hug, both of his arms wrapped around my back and his cheek lightly touching my own.

Into my ear he whispered, "…but I do not believe your 'I'm ok.' Even when you had left your relatives' houses one after another, you refused to talk to anyone about your troubles and you protected your brother on your own. You always worried and tried to resolve things by yourself."

"Arth—" I started to say but he cut me off by pulling back only enough so he could place one hand on the left side of my head gently angling it so I would be looking straight at him.  
Nervously my own hand came up to hold onto his wrist, just in case I needed to pull away.

"I am worried that you may go off somewhere and disappear again…" His expression was that of upmost anxiety and if I didn't know better I would have admitted that he looked pretty close to crying.

_Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding._

At the ringing of the bell for the end of lunch we both froze. It seemed we were so wrapped up in the moment that we had forgotten where we were, and how this was against school rules.

"…"

"This…We are still at school are we not?" Arthur gave a small smile as he let me go.

"…"

At my nonexistent response Arthur quickly added, "I'm sorry Mr. Jones. Let's stop here and get back to the classroom."

"…" I just couldn't say anything even though I really wanted to tell him that I wasn't going to leave him.

I didn't _want_ to leave him.

As we exited the room, there was one vital thing that I had failed to notice while we were in there. Through the windows, the two third years that I thought I had left semi-unconscious had somewhat recovered…

And they had taken a picture of both me and Arthur through their cell phones.

~::*::~

Back at home Matt presented a special gift for both Arthur and me after dinner. From his backpack he produced a little paper box that he was handling very carefully. Once he placed it on the dinner table he flipped open the lid of it and pulled out two paper rings.  
The origami rings were expertly shaped not only to look like a ring but they were also made to look as if there was a gem on top. Sure it wasn't as smooth as an actual ring, but it was made out of paper after all. I knew that Matt was really good with his hands but I never thought he had the dexterity to make something as delicate as this

"Francis told me that marriage needs a ring." Matt announced as he handed one ring to both me and Arthur.

"Incredible." Arthur murmured as he turned the small craft over in his hands.

"…you can really make something like this?" I asked as I brought it up for close inspection. It was made of a shiny golden origami paper. Handling it gingerly so I wouldn't inadvertently crush it; I slowly slipped it onto my left ring finger. Gently I curled up my left fingers a bit so the ring would be more prominent.  
The corners of my lips tugged up as that little feeling that had started to pile up in my heart threatened to overflow.

"It's wonderful" I said when I finally looked away from the gold origami, "Thank you Matt. This made me really, really happy." Unable to contain myself, I enveloped my younger sibling into a crushing hug; somehow Matt always knew how to brighten even the darkest of my days.

When I had pulled back and allowed Arthur to give a 'thank you' hug to Matt as well I couldn't help but think that I really liked them…

Both Arthur and this lifestyle…

And that's why I wanted to change, so I could be someone who would fit well with Arthur.

~::*::~

I took it upon myself to go shopping for groceries the next afternoon after school. Initially I had expressed a bit of concern for leaving Matt on his own but Arthur told me that Matt would be fine on his own, and I could have sworn that he added under his breath that there was _someone_ that was looking after Matt anyway.  
I could hardly think of anyone like that, but as I left the apartment Matt insisted he would be fine so I gave up and headed out. Outside the front door of the apartment there was a balcony that overlooked the front parking lot; it was from there that Matt waved goodbye as I left the apartment complex through the front gate.

However, I was stopped just outside the gates by those annoyingly persistent third years.

They blocked my way out as I approached them so I decided to speak up.

"You two…the ones I had the useless fight with…Who were you again?" I asked, even though I was perfectly sure who they were, it was just amusing to see them flip out.

Once they had calmed down, one of them held up a phone to my face and said, "Anyways, the fact that you just came out from Kirkland's apartment and this picture…"

My eyes widened when I recognized the people in the picture. It was the moment when Arthur had embraced me in the Science Lab. The picture may not have shown my face but it did show Arthur's since Arthur's head was resting on my shoulder. So even if no one could identify me in the image, Arthur would definitely be the one in trouble.

"If you don't want to be found out, then you better follow us" They threatened. I grit my teeth to keep myself from saying anything and started after them.

~::*::~

_We… who had lost our place_

_Had finally found a landing spot_

~::*::~

**~::*::~Arthur Kirkland~::*::~**

~::*::~

"Seriously…Why did I buy these?" I wondered out loud as I stood just outside the apartment complex. Held in my hand just in front of my eyes was a little white bag; what was inside said bag had burned quite a hole in my pocket…and I wasn't even sure that Alfred would like it.

What was worse was the fact that I didn't even have Gwin to cheer me up. At the end of the school day I had sent her back with Alfred so she could keep an eye on Matthew when Alfred left to buy groceries.

I had soon found out that Matthew had the ability to see and hear Gwin the evening when he was teaching me how to make the origami hat…er, _samurai helmet._ I was more overjoyed than Gwin, however we had to realize that Alfred was not able to see Gwin at all, so I made a pact with Matt to never tell him about Gwin. Because who knew what Alfred would think if both his brother and I began to babble about magic and faeries?

"Artie~! 'Ow are you? What are you doing in front of ze apartment?" and ever-cheerful and annoying voice filled my ears as I turned my head and saw Francis approaching.

I glared at him, "You. You were the one that caused Alfred to act so strangely that other night didn't you?"

"Was he not wonderfully straightforward?"

"…" I continued to glare at him; fidgeting slightly he changed the subject.

"Anyway, a few others and I 'ave a group date planned and we do not 'ave enough people…want in?"

"NO." I said resolutely, trying to shake off the Frenchman who had then latched on to my arm.

"Aww, why not?" He whined, "Forget ze new wife once in a while! Your wife is playing around too."

I stopped struggling against him, "What? Alfred was?"

"Yeah, 'e was walking with two guys from your school earlier. Zey were kind of scary but popular looking…" Francis explained.

Then out of nowhere I felt something land right on top of my head. A high pitched out-of-breath voice soon followed, "Arthur! You have to follow me now!" I had jumped slightly, but this action didn't surprise Francis; he had long since known about Gwin, even though he couldn't see or hear her and I had the suspicion that he didn't believe she existed; I had given up trying to convince him.

But as Gwin pretty much explained what Francis had, except that Matthew had gone off to follow Alfred as well, I grew increasingly uneasy. Without any second thought I tossed the little white bag and my suitcase into Francis's hands.

"Arthur?" He looked confused at my sudden actions.

"Take my stuff back upstairs. If Matthew is not in the flat, contact me!" I said quickly.

"If it is for Matthieu's sake, sure." He answered, "Leave it to me." It was helpful that Francis could tell when there was an emergency…I only wished he was that serious and helpful all the time. He could tell that Matthew was most likely not at the flat, so he would easily catch up to me once he put away the extra bags.

Once I was out of Francis's earshot I said to Gwin, "We still have some time before the sun sets, can you help me find Alfred?"

"Of course." She confirmed.  
And as she gave out directions, I got the dreadful feeling of déjà vu. Why did Alfred have to be so troublesome? Going off and disappearing and leaving me to constantly run after him?

~::*::~

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

~::*::~

"Oi!" I called out as it was already starting to get dark, "How far are we going?"

"Shut up!" One of them retorted and then turned away, "We've brought him!"

A bit farther ahead a deeper voice answered, "Okay."

I took half a step back; immediately my body tensed up. I was now in front of two full grown men, and from the looks of it they were likely gang members. The nauseous smoke from their cigarettes was filling the air and clogging up my nose.

"Hmm, Since we heard you guys were beaten up we were expecting some huge guy, but isn't this scrawny kid cute?" The taller of the two teased as he blew out a puff of smoke; I had to stop myself from gagging or coughing and keep up my glare.

Suddenly I felt both of my arms being pulled back pinned to my back so I wouldn't be able to move them. It was the two third years; they had circled around me while I was distracted by the men.

"We were wondering what kind of revenge we could have on you. " One of the third years said, "So we got some help."

In front of me the taller man threw down his cigarette and stomped on it as he walked forward. Without a word he grabbed my jaw with one of his monstrous hands and forced me to look up at him.  
I would never find out what he planned to do next because suddenly something fairly sharp had hit him in the back of his neck.

Craning my neck to look over his head I cried out in alarm, "MATT? What are you—? You were following me the whole time?"

Matt didn't answer as he was busy blinking away tears as he threw one origami ninja star after another at my assailants, effectively distracting them. Even though I knew how dangerous this situation was I couldn't help but feel a little prideful; I never knew that he could look so heroic while crying like that.

"Leave him alone! Let go of Alfie!" He demanded through his tears.

"You brat!" The tallest gang member turned and pushed Matt down with one hand. The blunt force of his blow threw Matt a few feet back into the ground, and that was where my blood reached its boiling point.

No one.

Absolutely no one was allowed to touch _my_ brother.

"What the hell are you doing to my brother!" I roared.

With all the momentum I could get I pushed against the two who were holding my arms and forcefully swung up one leg to kick the tall man's back and cause him to stumble forward.

"How dare you touch him?" I bellowed, "I live for Matt! If I stay silent while my brother gets bullied even Arthur'll scold me!"

The tall man recovered quickly and spun around to grab me roughly by the front of my shirt, I saw what he pulled back one fist to punch my face. "Oh really? I guess we'll definitely have to hurt you a little!"

I had closed my eyes to brace myself for impact but it never arrived. Instead I found a protective arm circle around my shoulders and my forehead was pressed against a warm cheek. I opened my eyes to see another hand that blocked the giant's punch with relative ease; it belonged to the same warm person that was now protecting me. Arthur…

"...You punk wannabes," His voice was low and threatening, I wanted to look up at him but his arm kept me tight in place and I could only look down at his collar bone, "what are you doing to my wife?" It seems Francis's incessant talk of me being the "wife" had finally rubbed off on Arthur. I was ready to protest, but given the situation, I kept my mouth shut for once.

"Wife?" The tall man uttered just before I heard a sickening blow. Arthur had let go of the man's fist and his own had flown out and connected with the man's nose. The sheer force blew the man back quite far and it made me flinch in surprise. I could only stand as stunned as the two third years as Arthur let go of me momentarily.

He cracked his knuckles briefly before landing a few more precise blows to the two men. It didn't take long for them to fall and be piled up on each other.

While Arthur was taking care of the two that had tried to attack me, Francis had arrived as well. He was busy calming down Matt and he seemed to be doing a good job too.

By the time I looked back at the fight I was once again wrapped up in Arthur's arms. Next to us were the two beaten up men. In triumph, and possibly habit, Arthur had brought up one foot to rest on the back of the man who was piled on top.

The man in question however was busy yelling out to the petrified third years, "Y-you…you guys apologize now! Apologize to him immediately you idiots!"

"What?" The two cried out in disbelief.

"What are you saying "what" for? This person is _Arthur Kirkland!_ You guys should know this too! He's the legendary "Hell's Lion"* who came back with no injuries from fighting 100 motorcycle gang members by himself!"

I was starting to get a bit dizzy from this new information.  
100 gang members? He fought them all and came out with no injuries? Is that even possible?

Ignoring the man as he continued to yell at the third years, Arthur brought down his foot and instead scrutinized me.  
"You are not hurt are you?" he asked as he gently put his hands on either side of my face and tilted my head in different directions in search for any bruises.

"No…I wasn't hit at all…" I managed to murmur.

"Good." He whispered, but he didn't smile as he brought me into a close hug again, this time with his arms wrapped round my shoulders and neck.  
Then he turned his attention to the men and boys that had caused this mess. He scoffed slightly, "Hell's Lion indeed…well…An embarrassing past like that may be helpful if it can be a tool to protect Alfred."

I then noticed a change in the tone of his voice as well as the fact that Francis had put his hands over Matt's eyes. Before I could wonder why, Arthur took off my glasses and with one hand covered my own eyes. Everything went black as I could only hear Arthur's voice become one of the most chilling I had ever heard.  
I could only imagine the terrifying expression he would have had that would go along with such a voice.

"You all, listen closely. Do not get involved with my 'family' from now own. Especially the relationship between me and Alfred. If you tell anyone, _I will personally send you to hell_." Coming from that tone of voice, it seemed all too possible that Arthur was capable of carrying out his threat.

After that threat, we had deleted the picture from the cell phone and we made all four of them swear that they wouldn't tell another soul about our marriage.

And that was how our secret was once again put into the dark.

Once the troublesome ones left, Arthur went back to normal and reprimanded me, "Did I not tell you to not to carry your problems on your own? Why will you not confide in me?" That anxious expression returned and I couldn't look up at him.

"I'm sorry" I said and I wanted to stop there, but the words tumbled out without control, "but Arthur…you don't try to touch me at all right? Si-since I don't have any appeal or experience…and you having to marry me out of sympathy…" My sentences became more fragmented and broken as I fought to keep my voice from cracking, "I don't want to cause you anymore trouble like this…"

Arthur sighed heavily before saying, "You oblivious git. When will you realize that—"  
As he paused he pulled me forward again, only this embrace was tighter and it seemed to want to convey a message that mere words could not, "that…of course I want to bind you as a man! But as an adult, I think about you as a 16 year old too! For the future…when you want to fall in love _normally..._with someone else…"

Now it was these words that elicited tears from me…how could he ever imagine that I would want to fall in love with someone else? Why would I when I had him already?

"Are you stupid?" I asked, but not as harshly as I wanted to, "When you've already made me and Matt this happy, you need to take full responsibility of us!"

"Then…can I put a 'symbol' on you?" he asked.

~::*::~

Back at home Arthur took a little white rectangular box out from a small bag as Arthur, Matt and I were all sitting on the ground around the coffee table in the living room.  
Almost shyly Arthur placed the box in front of me and motioned for me to open it.

I gingerly untied the ribbon on it and opened it. Inside were two simple ring bands. They were a shining golden color with small clear gems inlaid all around the band.  
I could only look down at the rings with a sense of awe until Arthur finally spoke up.

"It is not the very expensive kind but…I could not help but compete against Matthew" he smiled as I just looked up at him with an expression that clearly showed how wonderfully unbelievable I thought this was.

When I didn't answer he took the box from my hands and offered, "Will you put it on?"

Taking out one of the rings he took my left hand and gently placed the glimmering band on my ring finger as I held my breath. As soon as it was on, I reached out for the box and plucked out the other ring. I handled it as delicately as I did with Matt's paper ring and hesitantly took Arthur's hand in my own and put the band on his left ring finger as well.

We let that warm moment last without a word as Arthur and I leaned against the front of the sofa from where we were sitting. I found that it was rather comfortable for me to slouch just a bit so I could rest my head on the crook of Arthur's neck and shoulder as I looked down at our hands.  
Arthur had taken my left hand into his own and lightly intertwined our fingers. I gazed down at the rings and as they caught the light I could only think of how perfect it all was.

~::*::~

_That warm feeling was filling me up._

_And by getting bound to him_

_I finally_

_Got to land on the ground…_

~::*::~

* * *

Author's Note: *Hell's Lion~ Arthur was called this b/c he had really long messy hair that apparently made him look like a Lion. ^_^" that's my reasoning anyway…

On an additional note, I have finally submitted a preliminary sketch of Gwin on my Deviantart, if you are interested, the link is on my profile~

**EDIT: 24 Feb: **I have a sketch of Delinquent!Arthur that I plan to upload soon ~  
**EDIT: **27 Feb: I have updated the delinquent Arthur picture, check my profile for the link to my DA~ :3


	6. 5: The Pudding Person!

**EDIT: 1 March: **_Revising edits on the end of the chapter, just some rewording and some extensions. _

**Author Note:** I love all of my readers! You guys are amazing~ I got some lovely reviews and lots of people that +favorite/alerted the story~~Thanks to everyone who did!

As always I'm going to be revising this chapter, especially since I tried to get it done by the end of the week and it likely has lots of grammatical errors~ So it is very likely that edits will be done! So if you do spot something please point it out! Thank you~ :3

**Warnings: **Yaoi, mild swearing, writing errors~

**Disclaimer:** Kisu Yori mo Hayaku and Hetalia do not belong to me~~TT^TT

* * *

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter Five: "The Pudding Person"~::*::~::*::~**

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

I found out that as time went on Arthur developed a habit of giving Matt a big hug as soon as he got home. It was such a big hug in fact that Arthur often picked up Matt altogether, but that wasn't too difficult a feat; Matt was very light after all.

However one day I sighed quietly as I saw Arthur give him the customary hug. At first I didn't mind at all, Matt was the type of kid that you couldn't help _but_ want to hug, but now I was starting to feel a bit left out.

Matt, being as intuitive as he normally was, must have picked up on that feeling because he glanced over at me that afternoon and then he looked up at Arthur.

"Artie…" He started to ask innocently, "You're not going to give Alfie a hug too?" He pointed over at me and Arthur looked in my direction with surprise.

As he turned his eyes towards me and gently let Matt down I stood up a bit straighter. As he approached I looked at him expectantly when he gave me a broad smile…  
and patted the top of my head, "I'm home, Alfred."

That was it?

He then walked past me to check on Francis, who was cooking in the kitchen. I slumped down to the floor in defeat; Matt got a hug and all I got was a pat on the head?

Matt came and sat down in front of me with the most sincere look of sympathy on his face, "A-Alfie…I'm sorry?...I tried though." His lower lip pouted out slightly as he frowned, but for some reason his trying to help me out made me smile.

"Yeah I know. It's ok Matt." I ruffled his hair until I could elicit his usual bright smile, "C'mon, let's eat!"

We had been living together for nearly two months and as usual my relationship to Arthur was, at best, platonic…

~::*::~

Matt and I were on the way home the next day. We had gotten a bit sidetracked when I saw an ice cream cart in the park on the way and I bought some ice cream for the two of us. I put the last spoonful of ice cream into my mouth as my mind wandered around and mused about my strange relationship with Arthur. I may have gotten a ring from him but otherwise nothing had changed between us.

"Look." Matt suddenly spoke up, "Why's Artie standing outside today?"

Ahead of us, just outside the gates of the apartment complex, Arthur was standing with Francis; both of them seemed to be talking to a third man. From what I could see he was a bit taller than Arthur and he had either really light blond hair or it was actually a silver hue.

In the man's hand was a medium sized bag; he handed it to Arthur and even though I couldn't make out the details of his face, I could tell that he had a broad grin. Although I couldn't hear them I watched as that man started to laugh and say something that got Arthur very angry.

And even though I could tell that Arthur was likely cursing at the man as he kicked the guy, the man only laughed as if he was used to such treatment.

Unfortunately just as we got close enough to hear them, the man had already started to walk away and Francis had turned his head to see us. Immediately he alerted Arthur of our arrival.

"Alfred! Matthieu! Welcome back," Francis called out cheerfully.

When Arthur turned to face us, I noticed that his expression had gone from irritation to something similar to surprise. I was sure he was wondering if I had seen him kick that man as I asked him, "Arthur, who was that? A friend of yours?"

Arthur had opened his mouth but Francis had already started to speak, "Yes. 'E's from a group we call ze pi-_rates!"_ The last part of his words didn't come out as clearly to me because it came out as more of a out of breath groan; Arthur had quickly connected his fist with Francis's stomach to shut him up.

"You do not need to say anything unimportant." Arthur insisted with a strained smile before he turned towards us, "That man was just an old acquaintance. Anyway we have some pudding. "Let's go eat shall we?"  
He smiled brightly as if the man had never arrived and Francis hadn't just let out something that I wasn't supposed to know.

~::*::~

_Apparently Arthur used to be a delinquent.  
Although it's hard for me to imagine that right now, I saw a tidbit of his violent side when he saved me from getting attacked by two gang members.  
What was it that they called him?  
The Hell's Lion?  
Anyway, even though he polite and somewhat refined when he's at school or with me and Matt his attitude changes completely when he's with old friends._

_And other than all this, I really don't know much about him…_

~::*::~

We were all sitting at the dining table and I was amused at how Francis managed to grab whatever type of pudding Arthur wanted. He seemed to change his mind and nab the next pudding Arthur was headed for. This went on for a while until Matt offered a pudding to Francis and he just couldn't refuse.

Despite how good the pudding tasted and how pleasant it was at the moment, something struck me as I watched Matt and Arthur exchange a spoonful of each other's pudding so they could try both flavors. I suddenly realized that I was becoming increasingly distant from Arthur, not physically but emotionally anyway. So even though I was his wife—oh great even I started using that word—I was falling behind even that pudding person I hadn't met.  
Everyone seemed to be closer to Arthur than I was…no matter how I looked at it.

~::*::~

As usual he only slept in the study with us every once in a while and only when he felt like it. That evening was one of those times and as Matt was seemingly fast asleep directly between us Arthur called out to me.

"Alfred? Where do you usually keep your ring?" He asked as he held up his left hand to show me his ring.

"I put it in a safe place. I don't want to get any scratches on it so…" I trailed off then asked, "When do you wear yours?

"Well…only when I am in the flat."

"…Why?"

"Hm?" At first he looked like he wanted to answer my question then he jus said, "No, it's nothing. Nevermind. Good night Alfred." And with that he turned onto his back and fell asleep.

That night, it may have been that I was a little more miffed about our lack of progress than usual and to tell the truth, I wasn't sure what was going on in my head. Maybe it was a lack of what should have been going through my head like _thinking_ for instance. But I silently crawled over Matt until I reached Arthur.  
I was propped up on my hands and knees; my knees were just on the other side of Matt and each of my hands were on either side of Arthur's head.

My arms strained to hold myself steady so I wouldn't fall on both of them. Once I felt I was secure, I gently lowered myself down. I wanted to take matters into my own hands and just kiss him and get it over with. Besides, Arthur slept like a log, he wouldn't wake up right?

I was but an inch away when I heard a soft rustle next to me and I turned my eyes ever so slightly to see Matt with his eyes wide open. I froze completely as he blinked a few times, turned pink, and scrambled to silently turn over and quickly slam his eyes shut…but the damage was done and I had already rushed back to my side of the bed.  
I imitated my previous posture and did a few push up as I whispered frantically to Matt, "this isn't what you think! Look I was just…doing pushups!"

In my attempt to cover up my actions I didn't notice that Arthur had turned over on his side as well and then had is back facing me. I also didn't see that despite turning a shade of red that would rival even my darkest blushes, he had covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.

Needless to say, the rest of the night was spent with my head tucked under the blankets and my pillow. It would be a while till I was able to look at Arthur straight in the eyes and he amused himself by trying to make me look at him.

~::*::~

_No matter what attempt I made…_

_No matter how much of Francis's advice I used…_

_And no matter how many times I asked him about his past and he refused to tell me…_

_Every day seemed to hold just yet another fruitless attempt that left me disappointed._

_Because no matter what I did, we wouldn't get anywhere if _Arthur_ didn't even try to make any progress._

~::*::~

"What…in the world are these?" Arthur looked at the massive pile of books on the dining table incredulously.

I was busy reading one already so I just briefly looked up and said, "I borrowed this stuff from Francis. According to him it's just a bunch of Juvie manga and heroic DVDs"  
In other words the manga's storylines revolved around juvenile delinquents…call it research if you want. I was just trying to find an indirect way to understand Arthur's past.  
And don't worry I didn't let Matt read any of the more serious ones.

He picked up one of the books and glanced at the back cover, "And why are you reading them…?"

"Well, aren't they depicting the world you've experienced?" He looked up at me sharply and just from his expression I could tell he knew exactly why I was reading through all of these books.

Luckily the door bell rand and Matt ran off to answer it. He didn't have to witness Arthur suddenly slamming the book down and exploding.

"Stop it! You don't have to know something like that!" He rounded around the table to where I was sitting. Defiantly I pushed the chair back a little so I would be able to stand up to face him.

"And there's no heroism in any of these either!" Arthur continued as he knocked the manga out of my hand.

"Hey wait!" I protested as I leaned back to catch the manga. The only problem was that I had leaned a bit too far on the side—these chairs didn't have armrests—and lost my balance. In an attempt to not fall to the ground I took a handful of the fabric of Arthur's shirt but that only ended up with him coming down with me.

There was a noisy crash as the chair also toppled to the ground and I only barely registered Francis's voice from the hall, "What was that?"

I was more preoccupied with Arthur as he hovered directly above me at arm's length.

Taking this chance I tried another approach. I lowered my voice and looked straight up at him, "Arthur…all I want is to know more about you." Trying to keep my nervously quivering hand steady, I intended to place a hand on the side of his head, "Please tell me."

But my hand stopped short as Arthur responded with a deadpan voice, "…Alfred…that same passion you put into your words…please put it into your studying too."

I froze.

My body just acted on its own instincts, especially my burst of frustration and anger. I had swung up one arm and punched Arthur right in the stomach. I immediately pulled myself out from under him and shakily stood up before continuing to back away from him.

**~::*::~Arthur Kirkland~::*::~**

I exhaled sharply as I felt the full force of Alfred's blow hit my gut. All the air rushed out of my lungs, as did a short grunt of surprise. Out of reflex, I wrapped my arms around my stomach, shut my eyes, and rolled onto my side to wait for the pain to subside.

I tentatively opened one of my eyes and I could see Alfred's feet as he backed away and stopped. I heard a sharp intake of breath that was often accompanied by his voice cracking. Gripping my stomach tighter to brace myself I forced my eyes to look up at Alfred's face, afraid of what I predicted I would see.

My body suddenly felt numb as a cold wave of guilt washed over me; Alfred's expression in that moment was one of the most painful ones I had to experience. The anger and hurt that radiated from him was overpowering and I wanted to look away but he had begun to talk when we made eye contact.

"I was asking you seriously! Why don't you tell me anything?" His normally sharp blue eyes were starting to gloss over with moisture as he accused me, "Even though we're married! Does that mean _anything_ to you?"

Another sharp intake of breath and his voice suddenly dipped to a lower volume, "…What was the point of even getting us rings? You still…You still don't see me as your family do you!"

He had shouted out his last few words and after that point he broke eye contact and rushed out as fast as he could. If he hadn't yelled out such accurate accusations I would have ignored the pain in my torso and run after him, but I didn't. My body was unwilling to move as even my mind became numb from realizing that by withholding all information about my past had hurt Alfred to this point.

"Alfie!" I heard Matthew's panicked voice along with Francis's as well. Alfred didn't answer and I only hear the flat door open and then slam closed violently.

Gwin, who had been watching the entire situation came down to the floor without a word and I could tell that she wanted to say something, anything, any word of comfort…but she held her tongue. And rightly so, I would say.  
She knew that after that one-sided argument with Alfred, it was clear that the cause of this was my fault and I wasn't the one who needed the words of comfort; it was Alfred.

I let my head tilt down towards the floor and allowed my eyes to do the same. I couldn't even bring myself to look up again as Francis and Matthew came into the room cautiously. Gwin left the floor and flown up to sit on Matthew's shoulder. I could hear her soft whisper as she explained what had happened to Matthew. While he listened to her he solemnly picked up the fallen chair back up to its four legs.

Francis on the other hand came around and crouched down behind me. He silently placed a stack of books—likely more manga—beside him and sighed audibly though it lacked his playful dramatic air.

"A couple fighting…?" He asked softly, "Why do you not just tell 'im about your past?"

"Shut up!" I muttered as I began to curl up my body just a bit by bringing my knees up and my arms close to the center of my torso, "It is hard enough to try to keep a distance from him right now."

Exasperated, Francis poked the back of my head, "Why are you trying so 'ard to stay _away_ from 'im? That makes no sense Arthur."

I sighed and finally turned to fall onto my back. In a protective motion one of my hands curled around my stomach and the other clutched the fabric that covered the flesh over my heart. I looked up at Francis and found that Matt and Gwin had come to sit by him as well.

"I really want to treasure him. But whenever we are together, we end up finding out more about each other." I admitted, "And if we get any closer…I feel like…I will not be able to stop myself anymore…"

As soon as I stopped, I sat up and added hastily, "Do not tell any of that to Alfred!"

Francis only smiled and said, "Okay," even though his expression was along the lines of, "Why does it even matter if Alfred knows you said that or not?"

Matthew on the other hand leaned forward his worried frown was a bit more troubled than usual, "Were you fighting with Alfie? Do you not like him?"

I quickly shook my head and answered, "No! I really do like him." Funny how easily I could admit this fact to the younger sibling.

"Then give a big hug to him too. He'll be really happy," he repeated himself so the message would sink in, "You have no idea. He'll be really, really happy."

The sheer simplicity of his statement meant a lot more than what he said. Hope welled up in my chest as I pulled Matthew into a tight hug and said, "Matthew, Let's go find Alfred."

"Yeah!"

Francis seemed satisfied that I was actually going to try to fix the situation that I had caused. I told him that he didn't need to come with us since he had an evening class he needed to attend to so he wished us luck as we headed off.

Gwin looked up at the sky, "Arthur, Mattie, it's going to get dark really fast…I may not be able to help for long but I'll try."

Matthew had insisted that he would be able to keep up with me when we started searching. But as the evening wore on I eventually offered to let him ride on my back.**  
**Just as the sun dipped under the horizon Gwin fluttered down tiredly and settled herself on Matthew's head. We were fast approaching the park where the impulsive proposal was first made.

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

_Idiot.  
Idiot.  
Idiot.  
_I'm such an_ IDIOT!_

How in the world could I have been so selfish? If Arthur didn't want to talk about his past, why didn't I just let it go? Nothing I did worked anyway!

After I ran out of the apartment, I didn't pay attention to where I was going. I just kept running until every breath punctured my lungs and every muscle in my legs ached. When I finally slowed to a stop, I threw myself on the nearest bench.

Somewhere in my mind I noticed that I was in the park and that this bench was likely the same one that Matt and I were sitting on when I had "proposed" to Arthur. On the bench I leaned back and brought up my legs as comfortably as I could. Wrapping my arms around my knees I let my head fall onto my arms and I took deep breaths to calm myself down.  
I wondered what Arthur and Matt were doing. Were they looking for me? Probably not…not after that expression Arthur had after I had punched him.

Groaning I curled myself into a tighter ball as regret went through me, punishing me for my thoughtless actions.

So wrapped up I was in my thoughts that I didn't notice a man walk up to me until he spoke up.

"Are you Alfred F. Jones?" He asked.

Before I lifted my head I tried to make sure there wasn't any extra moisture left on my face. Even though wiping my face with my sleeve was a useless action since my eyes were still red and all indications of my previous minor inundation of tears were obvious.

When I finally looked up the man was standing directly in front of me and just by his appearance alone I suddenly felt very vulnerable in my curled up position.**  
**The man had a confident, almost egotistical, smirk, but it was his platinum blond, almost silver, hair that reminded me of the person that had given pudding to Arthur. His most striking feature was deep red-violet eyes; those were the one characteristic that intimidated me the most. Otherwise he seemed to be the same height as me and of similar (if only a little bit more) build.

I didn't answer, but he didn't seem to notice that as he continued, "Excuse me, but can I talk to you real quick?"

I didn't see any harm in talking to him so I nodded once and he immediately responded, "Awesome. Now come with me."

Without another word he grabbed my wrist and proceeded to drag me in some direction that was definitely not closer to Arthur's apartment. It seemed he had a different definition of "talk to," one that was closer to "drag away and not bother to explain who you are or where we're going."

**~::*::~Arthur Kirkland~::*::~**

I looked around the park as did Matthew from his higher vantage point above my head. The lights on the street were beginning to be lit as the sky got darker and the two of us searched more frantically.

"Do you see anyone Matthew?" I asked.

"Mm…No not ye—wait!" He held out his hand in front of me and pointed towards a few women that were walking and gossiping with groceries in their hands.

"Oh my. Did you see that just now?" The first lady said.

Another with blond hair answered, "Yes I did! That dangerous-looking guy, right?"

The third and final woman in the group added, "Want to know who that guy was?"  
She paused to allow the two others to answer before continuing, "That was the young boss of a gang that calls themselves the Pirates."

The other two women let out dramatic gasps that would rival even Francis's.  
"No way!" The blond said.

"If they weren't so dangerous, I would have thought their name to be a bit funny," the first lady commented.

"I know right?" the Blond replied.

The third lady continued after they finished, "And that young man he had with him…The poor thing looked so uncomfortable."

"And he was practically dragging that boy wasn't he?" the first one asked.

"But you know…He was kinda cute. I wonder if he'll be alright…" The blond wondered out loud.

After hearing all of this I chose to approach the woman as they passed by, just to make sure of who they were talking about.

"Pardon me" I said as I stepped in front of them. They started and looked at me warily, but as they saw Matthew they seemed to relax.

"Forgive me for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but overhear, you said you saw the leader of the Pirates…are you sure?"

The blond spoke up, "Yes, we're pretty sure."

"And the boy that he had with him. Was that boy tall, blond and wearing glasses?"

There was a pause as they tried to remember what he looked like before confirming my suspicions. It seems my old friend had found Alfred. I immediately felt a sense of dread at what that violent git would be prattling about to Alfred and I thanked the women before heading down the street farther away from the flat.

"You know where we're going?" Matthew asked.

"Yes" I said shortly, "Hold on tight Matthew." I increased my speed as fast as I could without dropping Matthew; I knew exactly where Alfred would be.

A few years before, when I was unfortunately the leader of the aforementioned gang, we had established our basic headquarters at the house of the very person who had just dragged off Alfred. And I knew exactly how to infiltrate it.

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

Given how the man looked and the aura that he gave off, I first expected him to lead me to some abandoned factory or some other stereotypical gang's hideout. But he led me to a rather _normal_ two story house. There was nothing overly creepy about the building and nothing about it emanated the aura that it was once and still was a very active gang's headquarters.

The whole time my wrist was in his iron clad grip as he led me upstairs and through a door into a room; it was fashioned to look like an informal meeting room. It was a fairly large enough to fit a rectangular table in the middle and various types of mismatched chairs. I didn't observe much else about the room as my eyes fell on two familiar people.

Inside the room there were two people that immediately stood up as soon as we entered and I reflexively took a step back. They were the same two people that had attacked me a while back.  
Despite my sudden wariness I got a sense of pleasure in seeing that they still had bandages on various parts of their arms and faces.

The red eyed man closed the door behind me and then turned to the two other men. My feeling of foreboding increased until the two of them suddenly bowed their heads and called out in unison,

"We're really sorry about that day! We had no idea you were Kirkland's" they paused here and stuttered out, "..w-wife…"

Well, I wasn't expecting _that. _I didn't bother to try to correct them on calling me a wife; I was still a bit confused about the situation.

The man next to me started talking, "I wanted them to apologize directly to you, but Arthur wouldn't let me so I decided to bring you here." He grinned in my direction as he finally let go of my wrist. I rubbed it gently to restart the blood flow to my hands.

"Ah!" He suddenly said as if he had forgotten something, "I think I forgot to mention, I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt, the third leader of the Pirates. I was put in charge when Arthur decided to become a teacher. I'm a friend of his even now of course."

"I see…" I trailed off as my mind distracted me with the thought, '_Pirates? _W_ho came up with a name like that?'_

"In any case pudding wasn't an awesome enough for an apology, so I had to find a way to bring you here." He continued

"AH! So you're the 'pudding person'!" I had finally got a solid connection between Gilbert and Arthur.

"eh…pudding person?" He asked, but I just ignored him.

"Thank you for those. We really liked them!" I was finally starting to relax; Gilbert was a friend after all.

He grinned, but this time there was a bit of an edge to it that I didn't notice, "Not at all a problem but…You must be really stupid."

"Eh?" Why had the situation suddenly turned cold?

Before I could react properly he had taken a few steps forward and pushed me back onto the table. The force of his push caused me to land on top of the table with my knees and feet dangling off the side. Within moments I felt one of his hands cover my mouth and another pin down my wrist to the table. His eyes seemed all the more intimidating as he floated directly above me.

"Why did you innocently follow me into this house?" he asked as he smirked, "Did you really believe that I was "Arthur's friend?" What if I just wanted to take revenge for what Arthur did to my two subordinates?"

The shock of the revelation paralyzed my body as my mind raced to catch up with the situation. Arthur was right; my naiveté would put me in a lot of trouble one day. I should have been more cautious. I should have been…

_Thump_

_Thump_

_Thump_

Gilbert glanced back at the door looking excited all of a sudden. "Looks like he's here. I didn't think he'd come so quickly." He whispered.

_BAM—! _

The door suddenly flew open and Arthur came flying in…almost literally. It seems that he had been kicking at the door and when it finally let up, his momentum kept him going forward.

Within a split second his eyes landed on Gilbert…as did his foot. Most of the force of Arthur's assault landed right on Gilbert's head and threw him back among the chairs. I flinched as there were more crashes of the chairs falling and his two subordinates calling out for their boss.

I was so busy looking over at Gilbert that I only realized Arthur was standing in front of me when I felt both of my hands being pulled up. I turned my head forward and suddenly I was face to face with Arthur's worried expression.

"A-Arthu—!"

"I'm sorry!" He yelled out as his arms flew around my torso and pulled me close. Because I was still sitting on the table his face got buried in my shoulder and I could still hear his muffled voice as he rambled on, "This is why I didn't want to talk to you about my past! Or even let you meet them! I'm the worst for making you get into a situation like this!"

So that was why he refused to tell me anything…really…he worried too much…

"I'm sorry Alfred…but I will protect you…so—"

I interrupted him stubbornly, "No, This wasn't your fault" I tilted my head down till it touched his shoulder and held onto him tightly, "I was too careless, but I'll try hard from now on to get better. So you'll feel safe sharing anything with me."

I felt his tense shoulders loosen up and relax, "Ok." He answered.

We were so wrapped up with, well, each other that we didn't notice Matt come in and go over to the two subordinates to apologize about the door which was now on only one of its three hinges.

The moment ended…or was more so rudely interrupted—by the one and only Gilbert. He had seemed to return to consciousness briefly and despite the amount of blood that was coming out of his nose, he was laughing, "That was a good kick Arthur! When I die you better take over the Pirates again!" He stumbled back on a chair pretending to lose consciousness, but it seemed to be enough to agitate Arthur.

"Oi Gilbert! You—You bloody idiot! Stop playing around!" Arthur went over to him and pulled him up by his collar to wring him back and forth.

"This was a joke Arthur! A joke!" Gilbert was still laughing.

I guess they really were friends, 'cause Arthur didn't beat up anyone like that unless it was Francis.

~::*::~

_We were a married couple that skipped many steps…_

_But that was ok_

_It was fun to take it one step at a time…_

~::*::~

"Done!" I declared proudly as I slipped a thing chain through my ring and showed it to Arthur. We were sitting at the dining table after Matt had gone to bed; I had joined him as he sat there reading a few papers that i really wasn't paying attention to.

Arthur looked up as I held up the chain from the two ends. The golden band swung slightly as he asked, "Your ring?"

"Yep. I'll keep it on from now on...so I don't forget that I'm married." I explained quickly in hopes that it would make the words a bit less embarrassing.

Arthur leaned forward and took the chain from my hands, "Here, I'll put it on for you."  
He stood up and walked around the table until he was behind me. I sat up straight as he slipped the chain around my neck and began to fasten it together. As he did this, a sudden whimsical thought came to me and I laughed lightly at it.

"Hm? What is it?" Arthur paused in his fumbling with the clasp.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that one day I'll get to see an expression of yours that you'll only show to me~."

"…Have I been showing those through?" Arthur asked lightly and I noted the hint of playfulness in his tone.

"In any case…" He paused as the chain's lock clicked together and he let it go.

Now, instead of stepping away and going back to his seat like I thought he would, Arthur brought his left hand from behind forward to my chin and tilted my head to the left as he brought his right arm around me to bind my arms to my side.  
Suddenly I felt a soft and warm breath of air on a spot of my neck just before he kissed it.

It was short and simple and he didn't let me got as he brought his lips to my ear and his voice lowered dramatically, "I only do something like this to you."

I felt as if all of the skin from my neck up was ready to melt with the heat that flooded it. Arthur finally let go of me and I felt my entire body turn to jell-o; it refused to keep me upright. I slipped to the side and fell out of the chair. Just barely registering the pain of impacting the floor, I found myself completely in a daze at Arthur's sudden change in behavior from distant to uncomfortably close.

"Ah, what's wrong?" Arthur smiled as he hovered over me. I thought he was going to help me up until I saw a slight glint in his eyes, "You think that was the end? I'm not done yet! Here, get up!"

_I still don't have—enough experience with this!_

~::*::~**~Omake~**~::*::~

"Alfie look! It's the pudding person."

"…but I brought donuts today…" He said as he looked down at Matt.

It turns out that Gilbert wasn't that bad or scary of a person after all.  
And afterwards he came to visit many times…although he seemed to be settled with the name "the pudding person!"

* * *

**Author's note:**….I feel very unoriginal with the gang's name XD….I'm not sure where the idea came from…really I don't…

In any case, I kinda liked writing this chapter, I know that there isn't much about Arthur's past; information about that is sort of sprinkled throughout the story. And I know that there really wasn't much on Gilbert either…later on he's used for comic relief and to keep the plot going.

Eh…in any case I hope you like it~^_^

On a side note if you want to see my rendition of Delinquent!Arthur, check my profile to get the link to my DA account~

~ :3


	7. 6: First Place!

**EDIT: 7 March: Major revision: **_I added a few things to the scene just before the end of the chapter and made a few revisions here and there._

**Authors Note: ** Do all of you know how amazing you are? Lots of thanks to everyone who reviewed as well as added my story to their favorites/alerts~ You all have no idea how much you have motivated me, seriously!~

As always, the chapter will have revisions and changes done to it in the future~ There will be mistakes~~

**Edit:** I'm just curious to know~ For those of you that like the drawings I'm making to accompany the fanfic, do you have any parts of the story that you would like me to draw a picture of? If you have any requests, feel free to PM me or put it in a review~

**Warnings: **Yaoi, light swearing,

Without further ado, Here you go~ :3

* * *

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter Six: ~::*::~::*::~**

~.::*::.~

**~::*::~Alfred F. Jones~::*::~**

~.::*::.~~.::*::.~

"Isn't it enough already?" I asked between each difficult breath; My lungs felt like they were burning and my heart furiously pumped each swallow of oxygen to my overstrained muscles.

"No, not yet." Arthur only smiled as he hovered over me before immediately turning around and cheerfully announcing through his Styrofoam megaphone, "Mr. Jones said to add 20 more receives! Keep it coming!"

"_I never said that_!"

~.::*::.~

_It was almost time for the Annual Sports Festival and Competition.  
It was, by far, the one festival of the year I hated the most._

_Don't get me wrong, I was really good at running and swimming and I loved to compete…  
but not when I had to play a sport that involved some sort of equipment!_

~.::*::.~

"This is hard on me too." I heard Arthur pretend to complain from the sidelines of the court, "I thought Mr. Jones would be as he usually is but…I never thought he was this _bad_ at volleyball!"

I got distracted from where I was standing and sharply turned my head to look at him.  
"Be quiet! You're just watching and bothering me! So go away!" I yelled in frustration as I abandoned all the politeness that was normally directed towards a teacher.

Throughout that practice, I had missed all of the volleyballs that were being thrown at me from over the net. It was just my luck that all the sports competitions that the Class A section of the school was put into included using some sort of equipment. The Class A first years got to play softball, the third years, basketball, and the second year class was stuck with volleyball.

It also didn't help that there was a certain school volleyball team member, a guy named Toris Lorinaitis, in our class that was a complete Spartan. Really he was!  
He was very quiet and mild-mannered in class but just as soon as he stepped onto the volleyball court or if he was doing or talking about anything related to volleyball he became horribly fierce. And given the way he played volleyball (with absolutely no mercy by the way) it was almost as if he was on a battlefield instead of a court.

"Don't just stand there talking Jones! Focus and receive!" Toris called out as he served yet another ball towards me.

"Ahh!" I fumbled with it slightly and it ended up rebounding from my hands and hitting my face instead. The force of the ball as well as my own tired legs caused me to fall back onto the floor. As I laid there I resented the main rule of the sports competition—_everyone had to participate._

So even I, who was horrible at volleyball, had to be trained day and night for it.

~.::*::.~

"I'm home—"

"Welcome back" I grumbled as I pressed my hands against my lower back in an attempt to decrease the pain in my muscles.

"Alfie's entire body's sore" Matt explained concisely to Arthur as he went up to Arthur to get his daily 'welcome home' hug.

"Hmm…If you are tired you don't have to force yourself to come all the way to the front door to welcome me back." Arthur said as he looked over at me.

"Liar! If I don't then you'll complain!" I growled.

He only laughed to further irritate me; it was almost as if he got some sort of amusement from my sore muscles. After he let down Matt he suddenly felt the need to reach out to poke my arm. I recoiled violently and objected, "Don't touch me! It hurts!"

However, no matter how much he made fun of how I managed to get sore after only a day's worth of volleyball practice, he did force me to lie down on the study's bed as soon as we finished eating dinner. He insisted that I should be resting those muscles since there would be practice the next day _and _he even refused to let me help with the dishes as I usually did.  
Instead I found that he and Matt were busy fumbling with a first aid kit; they looked for a compress as I talked to them from where I was lying face down on the bed.

I turned my head on the side to look over at them as I complained, "Our class has too many volleyball members…Feliks, Eduard, Ravis….They're all too strict! Especially the one with long brown hair!"

"Ah. You mean Mr. Lorinaitis? He aims to win, so probably…"Arthur trailed off as Matt suddenly pulled out a packet that hell the compresses from the first aid box.

"Seriously…I don't like sports that use equipment." I grumbled.

"Maybe it is because you are not coordinated" Arthur teased and smiled as he opened the compress pack.

"Shut up! Besides…it's kind of annoying how you're so passionate about this competition."

Arthur stopped fiddling with the pack in his hands because his eyes seemed to light up as he looked over at me, "Sorry but, doesn't the idea of winning a trophy and medals sound really good?"

"Huh?"

"Well…It's just that…"Arthur blushed slightly and looked away, "Since I used to be a delinquent, I was always so far away from getting some sort of award. So for this sports competition, the teacher can earn a medal too right? I want to help out the class as much as I can or I won't feel like I deserve it. And last year we got third place so we didn't even get medals."  
That's right…Only first place got a trophy and gold medals, while second place only got silver medals.

I observed his wistful expression as he talked about winning the competition.  
Oh great…it looked like he seriously wanted that medal.

Arthur soon turned and came to sit on the side of the bed with one compress in hand, "So, try your best too Alfred."

"Yeah, yeah." I agreed half-heartedly.

"Good. Now, let's put a compress on your back."

He began to pull up the back of my shirt. My face immediately flared as I felt his warm hand touch the sensitive skin. His hand had already reached half-way up my back when I sputtered out, "I'll do it myself! I'll do it!"

"Hold still. Don't be shy!"

"Noo! Ow, ow, ow! Don't press it on so hard!"

~.::*::.~

_Shit—I hate volleyball  
but now…_

_I want to make Arthur happy by winning that medal!_

_And that means practice!_

…Lots of practice…

~.::*::.~

Since I had to go pick up Matt as soon as school ended I couldn't practice more in the afternoons. That's why I decided to go to school earlier to get some extra training done. When I made sure Arthur that knew I was leaving early, and he seemed very excited that I was so willing to try to get better at the sport, though I was sure that he didn't know the exact reason why because he was surprised at first.

In the locker room, I yawned widely as I changed into my gym clothes; I realized that I must have really cared about Arthur to willingly wake up this early and train for a sport that I despised...  
Luckily the school opened up earlier than usual so the students that wanted to practice in the morning for the Sports Festival could. I opened up the doors to the gym and heard thumping sounds of a ball repeatedly being hit and smacked to the floor.

Someone was there already?

I looked inside just in time to see the boy inside in mid-jump as he served the volleyball. His brown hair was tied back into a small ponytail and his expression was that of complete focus. One arm was outstretched under the ball and the other was pulled back, ready to hit. And hit he did; another loud thump resonating through the otherwise empty gym. Just as soon as he landed on the ground he looked over at me.

"Who is it?" He asked.

He was…

"Ah, I'm from Class A…Second year." I answered.

"Ahh, I see. The 'hopeless' Jones?" He frowned slightly when he recognized me as I stepped inside.

Yep, it was the renowned (Spartan) volleyball vice-captain, Toris.

Picking up a volleyball he turned away from me as he continued to speak, "You're probably the worst one in the class. I was hoping that at least you would be able to do a serve."

"I know, I know!" I said angrily as I imitated his action and procured a volleyball to tuck under my arm. Looking straight at him I then realized that I could use his help to get better.

"In any case, can you take a look at my form?" I asked hesitantly.

Toris turned slightly, he seemed to contemplate whether he would help me or not, then said, "Fine, Show me a serve then."

'_Umm… I think it was something like this,' _ I thought as I tossed the volleyball into the air and pulled back one arm. Just as it started to come down I hit it as hard as I could.  
The good part was the fact that I didn't miss it completely…_but_ it didn't go in a straight line. Instead it headed straight for Toris and hit him square in the face.

"Ahhh! I'm Sorry! T-Toris!" I ran over to him. He had fallen back and was now sprawled across the floor.

"…Eyes…" I heard him mutter.

"Hnm?"

He suddenly got up and stood to his full height, which was a bit shorter than my own so it didn't have that big of an effect. But despite this difference he looked furious as he yelled, "It doesn't go straight because you don't even look at the ball!"

I backed away slightly, this was the definite opposite of the calm introverted Toris that I had normally seen in class. I don't think people exaggerated enough when they said that he was passionate about volleyball.

He went and put a volley ball in my hand and guided my hand up into position.

"Look at the ball! And then hit it with the base of your hand." He started instructing.

"…" I was so focused on getting the form right that I didn't bother to answer, and he didn't seem to notice, he was much too busy trying to fix everything about my lack of volleyball skills.

I launched the first ball into the air and hit it.  
"Don't close your eyes!"

I launched yet another ball and forced my eyes to look at it.  
"Too much power, pull back a bit more!"

And our training continued…

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Arthur Kirkland**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

The whole morning I found that my mind wandered towards the school and Alfred. I was surprised when he told me that he wanted to go early to practice volleyball so he would be somewhat decent when the competition came around. Sure I was happy, but I wondered what had caused such a change in him in such a short time.  
So lost was I in my thoughts that Matthew and Gwin had to save the eggs from burning more than once until they just told me to just sit at the dinner table and let them take care of breakfast. Getting the feeling that I would be distracted for quite awhile longer, I let them take over.

I got a bit of relief when I got to school and was able to see Alfred, even though he seemed a bit spacey and he wasn't focusing on the lesson. I suspected he was thinking about the sports competition since he continued to look out of the window and towards the gymnasium.

~.::*::.~

When the bell rang for lunch, it also signaled the extra amount of time the school allowed the students to use the gym facilities to get some extra practicing done. I had finished my lunch a bit earlier and had changed to my own sports uniform that consisted of track pants, a t-shirt and a jersey made especially for teachers.  
My mind meandered to what I had seen earlier with Alfred being practically dragged by the volleyball member Mr. Lorinaitis to the gym for training. I felt a strange twinge in the pit of my stomach as I thought about that, so I forced the thoughts out of my head as I headed towards the gym.  
When I went into the gym, I scanned it briefly to find Alfred and Lorinaitis.

"Arthur, they're over there." Gwin pointed out helpfully and I looked at her with surprise, I never said that I was looking for them…

Gwin giggled, "Come now Arthur, I can practically read your mind, you know that. Let's go see them shall we?"

A touch of warmth brushed my cheeks as I wondered just how transparent my feelings were for Gwin. But I went over to them none-the-less, all the while making sure that I was taking a few moments here and there to check on other students so it wouldn't look like I was heading straight for them.

Once I came within earshot I asked, "Ah, Mr. Lorinaitis? You're helping out Mr. Jones?"

Lorinaitis was standing behind Alfred with both of Alfred's wrists in his grasp. It seems he was trying to perfect Alfred's form but he wasn't doing well.

"He's no good Mr. Kirkland!" Toris complained, "If he doesn't train more, we won't be able to win for the class!"

I continued to listen to him as he talked to Alfred, but much of my attention was preoccupied with the hands that were holding onto Alfred's wrists.

"We're going to practice in the afternoon too!" Toris declared to Alfred.

"Ah…I can't do afternoons" Alfred responded.

"Are you slacking off?"

"No! I have to get my brother from school! Besides I was going to train myself afterwards in the park!"

"Which one?"

"Heh?"

"I said 'which one'? Because _your_ self-training won't even _be_ training. I'll go there too, so you better be waiting at that park!" Lorinaitis had stepped around Alfred to face him and he lightly tapped Alfred's forehead with his pointer finger as he spoke, as if that would drive his words straight into Alfred's brain.

"You'll help me? Are you sure?" I heard the gratefulness in Alfred's voice and then…

At that point I had tuned out.  
I suddenly had a pang of the annoying feeling in the pit of my stomach again. It was almost as if that little feeling was trying to spark a flame, a green flame that would consume me if I wasn't careful.

I turned away and tried to disperse the crowd that had gathered when Alfred and Lorinaitis had started to bicker.

This was not a good time to let jealousy get the better of me.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Alfred F. Jones**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

In spite of his training methods, Toris really was a nice person unlike what I initially thought. This is what I realized as we trained in the park with Toris's volleyball. Matt had decided to come with me after Arthur suggested he come. I had the sneaking suspicion that Matt only came to keep an eye on me for Arthur's sake, but I didn't have time to focus on such things with Toris keeping such a sharp eye on every hit I made on the ball.

"Ah! It went straight!" I reveled in my sudden accomplishment.

"It went too far! Use less power!"**  
**Killjoy.

~.::*::.~

"Toris is really incredible" I praised the volleyball player during dinner, "He's helped me do a straight serve already! And it's only been one day!"

Matt nodded enthusiastically as he ate, and then swallowed as he said, "Yep, I was watching. Alfie improved really fast!"

"He said that he wanted to become a sports trainer in the future" I added briefly and then noticed that Arthur seemed to get tired of my constantly talking about Toris so I smiled brightly instead.

"I'll try my best Arthur. I'll definitely get that medal!" I told him.

"…" Arthur didn't answer at first and he frowned as he suddenly reached out and touched a spot on my cheek, "Don't over work yourself though. See, you have a cut right here."

"Don't worry! Toris said I had Stamina so…" I started stubbornly but trailed off as I realized that I had mentioned Toris again.

Ah, Arthur's frown deepened with worry and yet another emotion that I couldn't name or recognize. But I didn't understand why, shouldn't he have been happy that I was improving so much? I _was_ doing this for him after all.

~.::*::.~

_The more I thought about it,_

_The more I realized that I had never given any presents to Arthur._

_So I worked hard_

_from morning practice…_

_To lunch practice…_

_And even to evening practice…_

_Because I had never gotten him a gift…_

_I wanted to hang a shiny gold medal around his neck_

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Arthur Kirkland**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

"I'm home…?" I was greeted by a less then pleasing surprise on the evening one day before the sports competition. Despite the pleasant drizzle of rain outside, all was not well inside.

"Artie!" Matt called out in a soft voice and then brought one finger to his lips, "Shh."

I instantly understood what he meant as I looked behind him and saw that Alfred was sitting on the ground and leaning against one wall of the hallway with his legs outstretched and his feet touching the other wall. Propping himself up in this way, he had crossed his arms and fallen asleep. With his head tilted down in the way it was, I couldn't help but think how uncomfortable that position must have been.  
Due to the shorts that reached down to his knees and his simple t-shirt I could see various scratches and small bruises as well as bandages covering his arms and legs. Why couldn't this boy do _anything _in moderation? Just how hard had he trained to make him collapse like this? He was going to get sick from all this overexertion.

I let out a long slow breath; He had done exactly what I did not want him to do.  
But for Matthew's sake I smiled instead of frowned and put my suitcase down on the floor.

"Come. Let's carry him back to bed" I whispered.

Kneeling next to him I securely placed one hand under his knees and another around his back. It wouldn't be hard for me to carry him and for once I was glad that I still had much of the strength I had when I was back in school.

As I lifted him into the air his head automatically rolled onto my shoulder and the whole way back to his room I focused on the light breath that rhythmically brushed against my neck.  
At one point I tilted my head to the side so my cheek could feel his forehead. It was barely warmer than usual and I hoped that if this was a light fever, Alfred would feel better in the morning. But if it got worse, I would make sure he didn't play.

Just as I laid him down in the study and adjusted his head I noticed his lips were moving slightly. I brought myself lower to hear if he was saying anything. The only thing I could hear from him was a single word.

"Medal…"

"…seriously," I sat down on the side of the bed and lightly combed his hair with my fingers before resting my hand on the side of his face, "This is not what I meant when I told you to try hard."

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Toris Lorinaitis**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

I loved the Annual Sports Competition, almost as much as volleyball itself. Almost.  
That's why I couldn't help but feel pumped up when I saw so many people in the gym with various volleyball courts set up and ready to go.

"Wooow" I heard a familiar voice drag out the word, I turned my head to see the boy that had come to stand next to me, "This is like the biggest amount of people I've like ever seen in the gym." Feliks had walked into the gym just behind me.  
I was surprised; he had started to ignore me ever since I had started to help out Jones with volleyball so he could help out the team. But I took advantage of the moment to finally talk to my close friend.

"I know. Isn't it great?" I asked.

"Totally." I smiled as Felik's eyes lit up. It was nice to see his face brighten up as it usually did before a volleyball game or tournament. Up till now he had been in a fairly foul mood.

We talked a bit more and I realized just how much I took Feliks for granted. While I had been training Jones, I started to feel a bit lonely without Feliks, but then again it was my fault that I got so caught up in helping Jones that I was the one who didn't have time for Feliks.

I was starting to feel like Feliks had finally forgiven me for this when he offered to tie back my hair for me. It was a habit we had developed early on when we started to play volleyball together. We found it difficult to firmly tie our hair back on our own, so it started when Feliks offered to tie mine for me before our first volleyball game.

Unfortunately, it was only after I finished tying up his hair that he realized that he was supposed to have been ignoring me as he had been for the last week or so.

"Ah!" He stepped back and pointed at me dramatically, as if he had just realized I was there.

"Feliks…It's a bit too late for you to get surprised now." I said, half amused and half exasperated. But I shouldn't have been surprised given how long I had known Feliks.

"No, it totally ain't! You just like caught me by surprise, that's all!" He turned away childishly and pouted, an action that was also followed by a slight puffing out of his cheeks. In our usual arguments at this point I would have laughed and said that he looked somewhat cute whenever he did that, but this issue was different. Feliks enjoyed dragging me away from everyone else whenever I spent too much time with anyone but him…but this was the first time that Feliks had instead chosen to ignore me completely.

"Well since we're talking now can you at least tell me _why_ you've been avoiding me?" I pressed.

Feliks didn't look over at me but his expression suddenly looked surprised, then he lowered his eyes to the floor with a frown,"You always practiced with me before a competition. But this time it's like…"he didn't finish and instead looked up at me with a seriously hurt expression. In the same moment I opened my mouth to say I was sorry, someone called for him from the crowd further in the gym and he ran off into the courts without a second glance back at me.

"Feliks!" I called out.

It was no use. Either he couldn't hear me over the din of the crowd or he refused to. I felt my shoulders drop with guilt as the fact that I had been neglecting Feliks in favor for Jones sank in, but Jones just _had_ to be trained else we were sure to lose!

I contemplated running after Feliks, but Jones had come up to me soon after.

"Toris! Look, look! I think I've got it now!" he said excitedly. I rationalized that since I was his coach it was my duty to see if he was fit for the matches ahead. We warmed up and stretched then I sent over a few volleyballs for him to receive and then to overtoss.  
He managed to hit all of them to near perfection. Pride swelled up in me as I tossed him a final volleyball and told him to serve. That too, like his other basic moves, was nearly perfect.

Quite a crowd had formed around where we were practicing. Jones really did have a knack for attracting a lot of the class's female members as well as a few males. They were cheering on for him at every successful ball that he hit during warm-up.

At his final serve I must have lost my head for a moment in the excitement of it all and pulled him over in an overjoyed hug.

"You pass! Good job, Jones! Now we're sure to win!"

In the spur of the moment Jones had tightly hugged me back and I was nearly crushed, good god did he have muscles…but he was so soft!  
I felt my face get warmer as I thought how surprisingly soft and warm he was.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Alfred F. Jones**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

I was so happy that I could finally play the game decently the only thought running through my head was, '_yes! Now I'm sure to get that medal for Arthur!'__**  
**_In my excitement I think I squeezed Toris too hard when we hugged because I heard him gasp slightly even over the noise of our observing crowd's applause.

I was planning on letting go of Toris in the very same moment that I felt a hand on my shoulder. I was suddenly pulled out of the hug and separated from Toris.

I looked at the person who pulled us apart and in surprise I saw Arthur; he only smiled, but I knew him enough to see the annoyance that was hiding under his smile.  
Just now…when he separated me and Toris…a sudden idea hit me—was he jealous?

Well that explained how he fell into a bad mood every time I mentioned Toris…  
I didn't get to think more on the topic as I suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Alfie!" Matt cheered as he ran onto the court where I was standing. In his hands were two red and blue pom-poms, I wondered where he could have found such things and then I saw Francis walking behind him; that explained it.

"Matt! Why are you here?" I had left Matt with Francis because I thought that guests weren't allowed to the competition.

I gave Matt a hug as Francis approached, "I 'eard zat ze sports competition allowed regular visitors too. So I came with 'im. Besides, Matthieu wanted to see you play after training so 'ard."

"Thanks Francis."

I was still so surprised that Matt and Francis had arrived that I didn't notice the groups of girls that were glancing over at us…or more so at Francis and Matt. They were whispering about who that man was and who that "adorable kid" was as well.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Arthur Kirkland**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

I honestly was not sure what I was doing when I pulled apart Alfred and Lorinaitis. I just felt a rush of that green emotion and my arms acted on their own to separate the two.  
I felt like a hypocrite; I had once said that if Alfred wanted to fall for someone else normally I would let him…but here I was trying to sabotage that same thing that could possibly be happening.

I got a bit of relief when Francis arrived with Matt and I didn't have to talk to or explain myself to Alfred. Of course Francis arriving was a bit of a double edged sword, he had also certainly caused a commotion among the female participants that had gathered to watch Alfred's last bit of training before the match.

Thankfully the first round was getting ready to begin so I didn't need to disperse the crowd. Instead I went over to Francis and Matthew and we searched for a good spot to watch the game.

"The first round's starting. I'll do my best." Alfred said as he left. I noticed that as he moved into position on the court that he was wobbling ever so slightly. It was near unnoticeable but Francis had noticed it as well.  
Francis had picked up Matthew so he could see over the crowd of students ahead of us. So as Matthew cheered on for Alfred, Francis looked over at me.

"Alfred is looking a bit messy with all zose bruises and bandages…" He commented.

"Yes, it was because of that student with the brown pony tail. The volleyball team's vice-captain" I explained as my eye drifted slightly to Lorinaitis.

"But…Aren't zose injuries for you, Arthur? I 'eard about it from Matthieu." He smiled as he spoke.

"Ah, really…" I covered my ears, "I know!" And I didn't want Alfred to have to get injured for my sake, ever. It was bad enough watching new scratches and bandages on Alfred from day to day, I didn't need Francis telling me that.

We watched each of my homeroom class's boys team's games intently as Alfred helped the team win all of the early rounds. I had to resist the urge to go into the court every time I saw the team practically dog pile Alfred under numerous hugs from each round's victory.  
But despite that, I couldn't help but feel if only a bit proud at how much he had improved in such a short time.

As the rounds progressed I began to notice something odd. Alfred was starting to sweat profusely and when the team reached the final round for first place Alfred was clearly tired. But there was no reason for that, he had plenty of stamina. I scrutinized him just as they were beginning the final round and I saw that his face was a bit flushed as well.  
Without consciously realizing it my feet were already moving forward and I weaved through the crowd to get to the front.

He may have truly gone over his limit this time. I shouldn't have let him get onto those courts.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Alfred F. Jones**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

_This would probably be the first time that I could give Arthur something._

_I was always getting things from him so this time_

_It was only right that I gave him something as well._

~.::*::.~

Ah…it was hot. I wiped off a bead of sweat from my jaw and took a deep breath. Lifting my head a bit, I looked up at the display that showed the first place medal and trophy.  
I was going to win it; I had worked too hard to let go of it now.

I bent my knees as I got into position for the final round. I found that it was harder to breath and it was uncomfortably hot…

Or maybe it was too cold?

I was so focused on the strange feeling of the two clashing temperatures within my body at the same time that I didn't pay attention to the fact that the game had started and I was caught me off guard as I heard someone suddenly call out my name.

"Jones! Look up!"

Just as I saw the volleyball hurtling towards my face I reflexively crossed my arms over my head to block. The ball bounced off my fists and up into the air and I heard a whistle blow.

"Out!" the referee called.

One of my legs suddenly felt weak so I leaned on the other one. There was a low buzz of dizziness in my head as my vision suddenly blurred. Why did everything suddenly look slightly warped?

One of my teammates came up to me, "You ok?"

"Hey Jones!" I looked over to Toris as he yelled over to me from his position, "Snap out of it! This is the final round! We can win first place with this!"

"Toris…"

"We can do this!" He said confidently and I heard everyone else agree.

I nodded and for a brief moment the dizziness and weakness in my legs left me as adrenaline rushed through me.  
Yes. With this I could give Arthur that gold medal. I couldn't fall apart now!  
Looking back to the front I gave my head a quick shake to focus my thoughts.

I would give it to Arthur. With my own two hands.

The other team served the ball again and I was snapped out of my thoughts again by Toris's yell, "Don't just stand there! Move!"

I stepped to the side to let the person next to me hit the ball up into the air.

"Good! Now toss it Jones!" I heard Toris again.

But everything was blurry again and my legs' strength left me after I had stepped to the side.  
I suddenly felt myself falling to the ground…

Somewhere in my line of vision I saw the volleyball being caught in one hand just as I felt another arm circle around my back to prevent me from hitting the floor. As my legs bent to try to keep myself standing, my head leaned back on its own accord to a familiar shoulder.

I knew who it was before he even said, "Please change the player."

Why was Arthur suddenly…?

"What?" I could only ask in surprise as I suddenly felt myself lifted off the ground and over his shoulder. How in the world was he able to pick me up?

"Mr. Kirkland…" Toris came up to him as Arthur asked the referee not to count the last ball**. **

I turned my head to the side. Since Arthur wasn't fully facing Toris and even though my eyesight was blurred, I could see how surprised Toris's expression was.

With one fist I saw Arthur lightly tap Toris's shoulder and I could envision his frown as he reprimanded Toris, "Are you not trying to become a sports trainer? It is important that you watch out for their physical condition as well."

He started to walk out of the gym and I swayed slightly before I realized that he was carrying me out of the game.

"No! Wait, Mr. Kirkland! Let me down! I can still play!" I put one hand on his back and tried to wriggle out of his grasp. But on arm was firmly circled around my waist and the other around my legs.

" Don't move." He ordered as he walked to the clinic, "You have a fever."

"Wha-?"

~.::*::.~

The nurse was out watching the sports fest as well, so Arthur took the liberty of taking my temperature. As I sat in one of the beds in the clinic, I held the thermometer in front of me as it read 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

"…."

"See?" Arthur asked as he sat next to me, "You 'ave definitely overworked yourself. To add to that you were fast asleep in the hallway last night when I came home."

I blinked slightly; I didn't remember much about the last evening except that I had come home after practicing in the park. I was dead tired and I didn't even remember falling asleep.  
I tried to take a steady breath, but I was shocked by Arthur's next statement.

"I'm not happy if I receive a medal that you got by forcing yourself to the limit! Besides isn't this good enough that you reached the finals? Either way your team has won."

My throat choked up and I whole heartedly blamed my fever and dizzy head for the sudden uncontrollable tears that decided (completely on their own, I assure you) to start falling.

Arthur sat back a bit in shock when I started to blubber out what I wanted to say.  
"Th—That won't be the same!" Every so often my sentences were interrupted with a sniff or a sharp breath.

"Alfre—" His hands flustered in front of him as he figured out how to comfort me and I, completely oblivious to his efforts, continued on.

"I wanted… to give it to you…" sniff, "I wanted to" sniff, "give it…"

I brought up my knees and used the bed's blanket to hastily wipe away the irritating moisture. It wasn't supposed to end this way! I was supposed to help the team win and then celebrate with Arthur...

"I wanted you…to be happy… That's why… I worked hard…but now that...this happened...What kind of hero gets sick...before the day of the competition and winds up...having to be carried out of the game by the...the one person he was playing the stupid game for?" I grumbled my frustration through the blanket as I covered my face with the cloth. I then felt Arthur's hand as it went through my hair slowly and heard an exasperated sigh.

"Goodness Alfred," his voice was suddenly scolding, "If you wanted to win so badly then as a _hero_ you would have to know not to overwork yourself like this. Sometimes your excitement gets the better of you and you just don't know when to stop."

I snapped my head up, "Are you trying to scold or comfort me? Choose one!"

"Alright." Arthur answered while trying to hold back his smile, "You have worked very hard, even though I think that it was too much. Thank you so much, Alfred. To me, that feeling you had of wanting me to be happy is the best reward."

~.::*::.~

_It was true._

_What I wanted the most was for Arthur, who was so important to me, to be able to smile and laugh in the same way he was able to make me and Matt smile and laugh__**.**_

_But I couldn't just always sit back and let him do everything.  
There had to be something more that I could do…else it would be too unbalanced.  
A relationship was a two-way street after all. _

~.::*::.~

"…That won't be…enough. What can I do to make you happier?" I asked stubbornly.

"Mm…I want you to get better soon." He said after a thoughtful pause.

"And?"

"…" Arthur paused for a moment as he thought about it with a serious expression, then he leaned back slightly and took hold of my right forearm with his left hand to hold it up.

"…I don't want any of the injuries that you got by training with Lorinaitis to remain." His voice lowered as he eyes examined my bandage covered arm.

He suddenly bent forward and lightly kissed one of the bruises I had gotten from hitting a volleyball on my wrist. My blush got darker, and it wasn't because of the fever that time.

"What are you-?" I started to ask but Arthur cut in.

"I'm disinfecting them." He said simply, "Even though it was another student…these were wounds you got from another man. I want all of them to disappear." He moved on to another scratch and leaned forward slightly, pushing me back onto the pillows of the clinic bed.  
So he _was_ jealous…why couldn't he be straightforward and tell me how he felt?

If my mind was a little clearer I may have worried about someone walking in on us, but there would have been no point in worrying about that.

Apparently, as I would later find out, Matt and Francis were standing guard outside the clinic doors.

~.::*::.~

"Your team received second place" Arthur announced cheerfully as he sat on the side of the study's bed, "See, we got the silver medal!"

"Tsk…Just silver? Darn it." I said as I sat up. Arthur had forced me to lie down as soon as we got back and I had fallen asleep almost immediately. When I had woken up Arthur was there next to me with a bowl of warm soup in his hands. It wasn't burned and it tasted suspiciously like a soup that my mom used to make, so I assumed that Francis and Matt had made it.

"Alfie!" Matt called out as he came into the room with something hidden behind his back. Just as he came to stand beside the bed he held out yet another paper creation that was made out of a paper plate with aluminum foil wrapped around it. In sharpie, my name was written across the foil.

Grinning he said, "I'll give this to you! It's the 'hardest worker medal'!"

'_I spoke too soon. Maybe a silver medal isn't that bad._' I thought as I pulled Matt up to give him a 'thank you' hug.

Well, what was done was done and I had no complaints…well…except the fact that Arthur insisted on 'disinfecting' my 'wounds' every night until I was completely healed.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Omake**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

"Jones! Here, please try these and get better!" Toris came to school the next day with an armful of various energizers and other sports related medicine that I didn't know existed. I did notice however that he was a lot calmer and he smiled a lot more; yep I liked the Toris that was off the court much more than his volleyball personality.

"I…kinda don't want these…" I said as I looked at a few of them and found weird ingredients that I could barely pronounce.

Somehow the two of us became friends.

* * *

Author's note: Yah~ yet another chapter finished! Right so, New Characters: Toris and Feliks~ Ravis and Eduard are only briefly mentioned and they only play small roles later on.  
For Toris's characterization I was inspired by the Hetalia comic that was titled "Polish/Swedish wars" or something like that~ It showed Toris to be a very fierce commander of the army, so I felt that he could fit rather nicely into the story.~  
That and I love Feliks!~~XD, seriously I don't know why, I just find him to be one of the more amusing characters

Also if you check my DeviantArt ((link is on my profile)) I have uploaded a few pictures that includes:  
collage of Matthew sketches,  
collage of Arthur sketches,  
Toris, Feliks and Alfred w/ volleyballs (this one is a rough sketch…I was too lazy to erase the guidelines),  
as well as a special surprise illustration of a scene from the end of chapter five. ~ :3


	8. 7: White Lies

Author's Note: Much thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter~~ I"m really glad that lots of people liked the pictures I drew to accompany this fanfic~~

This chapter isn't a monsterous size like the previous one, which was what? 8000-ish words?...eh yeah, this one isn't that long, but it's still a decent length. ^_^ so, enjoy~~

As always, any edits made will be noted at the top~so there will be mistakes...I think.

Warnings: Yaoi

* * *

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Chapter 7: White Lies**

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Alfred F. Jones**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

The sky was a vivid blue with barely any clouds and there was a comfortable breeze too. It was an ideal day to go to the beach.  
Apparently, the rest of the second years thought so too, as many of them ran into the fairly calm waves like they were toddlers on a field trip. Of which only the latter was true. The second years were able to go to a seaside fieldtrip.

With only my swimming trunks and an unzipped sleeveless hoodie, I found it pleasant to just stand on the beach and enjoy the breeze for a moment before deciding to go and mingle. Luckily we were able to choose our own swimsuits, instead of wearing our uniform swimwear that was dictated for the swimming classes back at school. I had also left my glasses back with my change of clothes and I was lucky that my eye sight wasn't too bad as mostly everything appeared clear except things a bit too far away.

Further down on the beach, wearing a straw hat, t-shirt, and shorts, was Arthur. He, like many of the students, was thoroughly enjoying the sea and the sand. He had a small shovel in his hand and was attempting to make a sand castle; from the looks of it, it wasn't that bad. Arthur may not have been able to cook but he was almost as deft with his hands as Matt.

The clear day and the sound of the ocean must have put him into a really good mood because as I passed by him he was humming to himself, as happy as a child that was put into a sandbox to play. The sudden image of how Arthur must have looked as a child with eyebrows like the ones he had made me chuckle out loud a bit.

"Like, what's so funny?" I turned my head to see Feliks, as well as Toris with two others come up to I had become friends with Toris after the Sports competition, he had introduced me to his best friend, Feliks first Feliks seemed to want to do nothing but avoid me, but eventually he came to accept me albeit grudgingly and with a lot of convincing on Toris's part.

I shook my head smiling, "Nothing, It's just a nice day and I'm just excited to see what we'll do here at the camp."

We made a bit of a conversation and I was formally introduced to Raivis Galante and Eduard von Bock, two more volleyball players. As I talked to them though, I had the strange feeling of being watched; initially I turned my head to glance at Arthur…but his back was to me as he was busy with the towers of his sand fortress.

Then I heard a smack and Feliks saying, "Like, _stop_ _staring_ Toris!" I looked back over at the two of them and saw Toris rubbing his arm slightly before he brought up his hands in front of him in surrender.

"Easy Feliks…I was just…eh…spacing out, that's all" He smiled sheepishly and I noticed a slight flush in his cheeks. Huh, I wondered who he was staring at for Feliks to get so irritated with him. I glanced around briefly at the female students and figured it must have been one of them. Of course because I was distracted by Feliks's scolding of Toris that I had forgotten about my earlier feeling of being watched.

It seemed that I was not very good at making connections between events like these…

In any case, it was finally time for the morning exercises that the camp had planned so everyone was called over and thus Feliks and Toris's one-sided argument had thankfully ended.  
As a group, we were led through a series of stretches to warm up because our goal for today was to swim to the little island that was not too far from the beach and then come back. As long as everyone completed the long-distance swimming the students could spend the rest of the time as they wanted out on the beach or in the Inn where we were staying in for the field trip.

As I stretched my side I spontaneously thought about Matt. As usual we had let him stay with Francis for the time that Arthur and I would be at the camp. And as usual Matt didn't seem the least bit bothered that he would have to stay with Francis. He didn't seem to be sad at all while I was gone. Even though I did feel a bit lonely without him…

Oh well, at least it meant that he was with an adult he could trust right? So I could just relax and enjo—.

"Alfie!"

A cheerful voice greeted me just when I bent backward and tilted my chin up. Suddenly I was looking at Matt's smile upside down. I froze slightly then my legs failed me and I landed on the ground, still looking up at Matt. He was in his own swimming trunks holding up a float ring around his waist and he was also wearing a hat similar to Arthur's; like me, he didn't have his glasses on either.

"Ah… Matth—?" I heard Arthur's surprised voice and a few murmurs among the students.

"Artie!" Matt cheered as he ran over to Arthur.

Why was Matt here!

I got up as a crowd of girls started to form around Matt and Arthur and just as Francis arrived.

"Francis! Why—How—" I spluttered incoherently.

"Haha. You see, it's just zat ze elementary school was closed due to a certain sickness zat was going around. So, we decided to come play at ze sea as well."Francis explained, clearly enjoying the attention he was getting from the majority of the female population of the second years. He was also wearing swim trunks as well as an unbuttoned collared shirt.

"Oh, and we're staying at the same Inn as you guys too." He added as an afterthought.

One of the girls came up to me, "Alfred, Introduce me!"

Another came up, "He came to the sports competition right?"

"Uh…I …" I held up my hands in front of me and looked over at Arthur for help. All he did was smile confidently as if to say "don't worry".

Getting the attention of the group he started to speak, "This one, Matthew, is Mr. Jones's younger brother. And he is Mr. Jones's distant relative, Francis Bonnefoy."

I froze again. What did he just say?

Francis looked over at him with surprise as well, but caught on easy enough as Arthur tossed a fake smile at him and asked, "You are Mr. Jones's guardian right?"

"Ah, Yes."

Some of the girls turned back towards me and cried out, "So you guys are living together?"

Arthur and Francis continued in their impromptu explanation.

"And they are living right next door to my flat." Arthur went on.

"Zat's why zis child is so attached to Arthur." Francis added, "Sometimes we go over and eat dinner together."

W—Wait a minute! Everything except for the very last parts were lies! All lies!

"Ahh wait! Hold on! I need to talk to you guys!" I cut in sharply. Losing my head for a second I grabbed both Arthur and Francis and proceeded to drag them away from the beach and the was holding onto Arthur so there was no worries about leaving him behind.

"Ah, did we say too much?" Arthur continued in his fake lighthearted voice.

I only stopped when we reached a small group of the trees far from where most of the student body was on the beach. I looked around briefly to make sure we weren't followed before exploding.

"What was with that! Don't just make up a lie all of a sudden! I couldn't follow it fast enough!"

Arthur looked apologetic as he said, "I'm sorry Alfred, but it was the spur of the moment. I had to do _something_."

"And besides" Francis noticeably pretended to look sad as he suddenly latched onto Arthur's arm and shoulder, "Mattheiu and I were really lonely and we suddenly got a vacation. We promise we won't disturb the camp—"

"Get off!" Arthur complained trying to pry Francis off of him but gave up after a moment and said to me, "In any case, we could use this as an opportunity Alfred."

"How can this be an opportunity?" I asked; all I saw was one big problem.

"I guess it can be a way for us to lie before they find out about our relationship." He explained.

"I…I guess." It was important the school didn't find out about this…

Arthur looked down at Matt, "Matthew, don't tell anyone about the marriage alright?"

Matt looked up at him seriously and nodded, "Right!"

Smiling, Arthur looked back up at me and said, "Don't worry. It will just be a white lie. We just have to switch my lifestyle with the frog's. Now let's go back."

"Wait…!" I called out in a small voice as they turned to leave.

Arthur and Francis could easily lie and Matt didn't count, all _he_ had to do was not say anything about it. But what was I supposed to do? Something like this was not easy for me!

I was really bad at lying! (Mostly because I had this deep rooted belief that heroes didn't lie…)

~.::*::.~

"Hey Alfred!" A few girls as well as Feliks and Toris had gathered around where I was in the calmer part of the water with Matt. They way they were firing questions at me I felt like I was undergoing interrogation.

"How long have you been living with Mr. Bonnefoy?"

"Do you get along with him?"

"Could it be that you guys are going out?" Feliks suddenly asked (he looked rather hopeful at this idea, I had yet to figure out why) and all the girls paused for a moment before they burst out laughing; I just turned pale and simply sunk into the water until only my head stuck out. The mere idea of that had made me slightly sick.

"That's not possible Feliks!" One of the giggling girls said.

"How in the world can you assume that?"

Feliks crossed his arms defiantly, "It's entirely possible!"

"Come on Feliks…calm down" Toris attempted to pacify the volleyball team captain.

I on the other hand was as still as stone as I found myself unable to answer their questions because I would end up being too honest and blowing our cover.

"What's wrong Alfie?" I heard my nickname come from Francis's mouth and I sharply turned to look at him.

"eh?..."

There was already a large group of girls surrounding Francis, some of the more bold ones were clinging to his arms and he thoroughly seemed to be enjoying all of this.

"Don't be shy and tell them~" He winked at me, "that we're always _really close_."

This set off Feliks again. "Aha! So you two are going out!" He pointed triumphantly at me as Francis laughed and made the situation worse.

"It's a secret." He said as he brought a single finger to his lips.

"Stop it already!" I yelled at him as Toris apologized and proceeded to drag Feliks away before it got ugly.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Arthur Kirkland**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

Completely unable to concentrate on my castle, I settled to pretend to work while I listened to Alfred being interrogated. All in all, it was amusing until Francis butted in. Right at the point when someone yelled out the possibility that Alfred and Francis could have been going out I had gripped both ends of my shovel all the while muttering curses under my breath. I ignored the angry trembling in my hands as I focused on sending a large amount of dark energy towards Francis.

"Ah…Arthur.." Gwin started, nervously looking down at me.

"Not now Gwin, I'm busy trying to put a curse on that damn frog." I muttered darkly.

"but… Arthur…"

I looked up when I noticed Mr. Lorinaitis, along with his teammate, come over to where I was.

"Geez Feliks…did you have to go and do that?" I heard him complain.

"But I might totally be right! Did you like _see _his reaction?" Lukasiewicz insisted stubbornly.

Sighing Lorinaitis looked away from Lukasiewicz and instead turned his eyes on me. We held eye contact for but a moment before he hesitantly said, "Um…Mr. Kirkland…your shovel's broken."

"Ah…" I looked down with a start and saw that my favorite shovel was bent at 90 degrees from the thick metal rod that connected the spade to the handle**. **

Gwin sighed as well and lamented, "That's what I was trying to warn you about. And that one was made of good steel too."

~.::*::.~

Lunch was held at the seaside house, and like Alfred, I was also tired even though I hadn't done anything yet. But Alfred looked slightly wearier; I could tell that having to lie distressed him quite a bit and that made me feel a bit guilty.  
But this was necessary. If we were found out, Alfred would surely be taken away from me.

I had just sat down at the teacher's table to eat as I noticed the vice principal go up to Alfred.

"Mr. Jones. What is the meaning of this and what _was_ that earlier?" The irritated man stood up as tall as he could in front of Alfred.

His name was Vash Zwingli, and he was well known for his explosive temper.  
Now due to his non-intimidating height, this temper wouldn't be all that scary.  
No, it was the fact that he used to be in the military until he was injured and therefore unable to fight. Afterwards he joined the police force in the town and soon became the vice principal of the school. It was said he kept a concealed gun with him at all times since he also acted as the school's police officer.  
How he managed to rise to the vice-principal position I would never know.

Anyway, he was continuing with his tirade, "Camp isn't a place to play. What are you trying to do by calling in such a flashy relative?"

I observed the scene silently as Alfred looked up and just glared at Zwingli. This wasn't the first time Zwingli had given him grief, he was caught more than once by the officer when he got into fights at school.

"What's with your eyes!" Zwingli suddenly roared.

Ok, _now_ it was time for me to intervene. The rest of the lunch room had gotten quiet albeit for a few murmurs here and there among the students.

I got up and came to stand between Alfred and Zwingli and put up a smile, "Vice Principal Zwingli, Mr. Jones's family just happened to be here. The beach is public after all."

"However, Mr. Kirkland—"He started but I cut in as gently as I could so he wouldn't perceive it to be disrespect. I did _not_ want him on my case.

"Mr. Bonnefoy is also an assistant elementary teacher, so he probably did it so the child wouldn't get lonely." I defended, "Mr. Jones is very important to them after all."

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Alfred F. Jones**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

_As I listened to Arthur silently, a sharp emotion stabbed through me,_

_It was…as if…  
he was talking from _someone else's position**_._**

_Arthur shouldn't have been forced to say things like this…  
he should have been saying that I was important to _him_ not Francis._

~.::*::.~

After the incident during lunch, we got to go back out into the beach for the afternoon and by that time many clouds had gathered in the distance and the sky was starting to rumble slightly. Far from everyone else, I was sitting up on the sea wall. The wall was wide enough for me to bring up my legs and curl into somewhat of a ball.

_'This is…kind of depressing.' _ I thought as I leaned my cheek against my arms that were holding my knees close to my chest.

"Ah, Alfred?" Francis came walking down on the sidewalk from behind me with a surfboard in hand, "What's wrong? You look down."

"Francis… a 'secret' and a 'lie' are different things. But even though I know it's necessary, it feels terrible whenever I hear it." I said, "How can you guys lie so easily?"

Francis was quiet for a moment then he came forward and sat next to me on the wall and started, "Since it was something zat I caused, I can't say it so proudly but…" he trailed off and paused, his eyes gazing out at the horizon and then looking back at me,"Arthur is probably lying because you are really important to 'im right?"  
I didn't notice in that moment but it was almost as if Francis had changed the subject from what he was initially trying to say.

"…?"

"Just trust 'im." Francis advised, "Unless…you zink zat 'e's saying all zat stuff for real, do you?"

"No! It's just that…" I was already flustered at the point when he said that I was important to Arthur.

Francis reached out and lightly lifted my wedding ring from where it hung on my neck as he said cheerfully, "Zen don't worry about it! Just 'ang in zere until we come to the days when it's safe to let everyone know. Arthur just wants to protect you after all."

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Arthur Kirkland**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

"Hey, like, look over there!" I heard the telltale voice of Lukasiewicz as he called out to his friends, "It's Alfred and that guy Bonnefoy."

Curious, both Matthew (who had come to help me build by castle towers) and I turned out heads to where Alfred and Francis were sitting on the sea irritating green monster of an emotion rushed up again as I noticed Francis smiling and looking at the ring that I had gotten for Alfred.

Lukasiewicz's two friends Galante and von Bock were standing with him; Lorinaitis was not with them, it seemed that he had gone out to swim instead.

"They look like they're having fun talking" von Bock noted, "I guess they are together then?"

Even little Galante spoke up, "That's true, and Alfred's necklace has a ring on it. Have you ever noticed that before?"

Feliks suddenly lit up again with yet another idea that really wasn't far for the actual mark, albeit the fact that he was referring to the wrong person, "What if they're like already married?"

_Thud!_

Feliks glanced over at where I was sitting and asked, "What was that sound?"

Gwin looked down at my now demolished tower and the flying sand with a look of pity, "Oh my…"

"Ah…" I looked at my outstretched fist; almost on its own accord my arm and swung out and released my frustration of my lovely sandcastle. I lowered the fist and looked forlornly at my crumbling castle that I had been working on all morning. It was now, like my shovel, completely broken.

Matthew came around what was left of the castle and sat by me. I bent my head down so he could pat it and say, "Artie…Have patience ok?"

"Alright." I managed to say.

Thanks to all these rumours about Alfred and the bloody frog flying around among my students…

Clearly, I was quickly running out of self-control.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Alfred F. Jones**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

After talking to Francis, I had started to feel a little better about this lying thing and possibly, just possibly, even I would be able to keep up this façade. It was for Arthur's and Matt's sake after all.

I walked back to the main part of the beach with Francis and his surfboard behind me. Francis had gone straight over to the sandcastle, or what was left of it (I wonder what happened to it?) while I was called over by Feliks and a few others.

"Hey, hey, Alfred~! Let us see your ring!" Feliks demanded as they crowded around me.

"Eh…All of a sudden?" My hand had shot up and encased the ring to protect it.  
Why were they suddenly so interested in it?

"Did Bonnefoy give it to you?" Raivis asked curiously.  
…That was why…

"No!" I said too quickly and tried to recover, "…Uhhh…. This is… um… this…"

_For Arthur…I had to lie…_

"I…got this from someone really important…" I explained and thought, 'W_hat I'm saying…it really isn't a lie right?'_

"It's because of him that I can be here today…"Ah… I let slip the word "him." Now they were sure to think that I was talking about Francis.

_But this was for Arthur…if it was for him…  
I would lie…_

"I see," all three of them exclaimed, "So you're in _love_!"

"You must be happy Alfred" Feliks crowed, "Because of Bonnefoy!"

I didn't agree with the second part of Feliks's statement but… somehow their first words rung true.  
All of a sudden, I felt a heavy burden that I never knew I had be lifted off my chest, the constriction of my breath that had occurred during the moments when I had tried to lie had loosened, and I felt myself smile broadly.

"I am happy." I declared.

Yet somehow Feliks and everyone had fallen silent and looks of surprise were clear on their faces.

"Eh…what?" I asked and looked back at where Matt, Francis and Arthur were sitting in the sand, "What's wrong?"

They didn't answer; instead they all had the same look of surprise on their faces. I blinked in confusion until my eyes met Arthur's and the full realization of why that burden was lifted hit me square on.

Involuntarily I found myself taking in a sharp breath and I hastily covered my mouth, however, in doing so my fingers had brushed past my cheeks and I felt moisture.

But…I was so _happy_. What was the reason for crying?

I tore my eyes away from Arthur as my face heated up more than usual and I stammered out, "…ah… I still have to finish my long distance swimming for today! So I'll just—" Without even finishing my sentence I started heading towards the water at full speed.

"Alfred!" I heard someone behind me call out but I didn't listen and continued to splash into the water, thankful that I was good at swimming.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Arthur Kirkland**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

"I am happy." I heard Alfred say.

There was so much relief in his voice; it was as if he had finally discovered an answer to something that he had been searching for so long. However, I didn't expect the tears that suddenly accompanied Alfred's realization. He was smiling so very broadly and yet…

He had only looked at me for a short time before he ran off after stuttering something about needing to finish that day's goal of swimming to the little island nearby and coming back to the beach.

As he swam off I heard von Bock and Galente talking with worry coloring their voices.  
"I wonder what was wrong…"

"Did we say something bad?"

I looked back out at the sea just as I felt a few raindrops fall onto me. The sky rumbled angrily and I saw a flash of lightning just as a strong gust of wind blew. My thoughts expanded from just being focused on Alfred to everyone on the beach; this was going to be a _really_ bad storm.

I had to get the students out of the water!

"Everyone! Get out from the sea!" I called out to the nearby students, "I'm going to pick up the students who are still swimming!"

Quickly turning to Matthew and Francis I shouted to Francis over the sound of the now pouring rain, "Francis! Take Matthew back inside!"

"Alright!" Francis called back and moved to pick up Matthew to carry him back to the hotel.

"Noo!" Matthew cried and pulled away from Francis to run to me.

"Matthew…?"

"Alfie's still in there! Let me come with you!" he cried worriedly and I looked up at Francis only to see him shrug, smile slightly and then nod.

"It is 'is brother, Arthur." He said.

"Alright then Matthew, come." I said urgently as I took his hand and pulled him towards the nearby dock where we could get a boat to pick up the students that were in deeper waters.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts and my frantic strokes into the water that I had only just barely noticed the sudden rain that had started around me. The once calm waves had become choppier and were harder to swim through. And yet I ignored all of this in favor for my thoughts that were running at hyper speed.

I couldn't even lie once! Not even if it was for Arthur… It was too embarrassing… and then suddenly crying for some reason that even _I_ didn't know of in front of everyone?

I just didn't want to lie about all this…because they were all wrong.

The reason I was happy wasn't because of Francis;**  
**it was because of Arthur!

The person I had fallen in love with wasn't Francis,**  
**it was—!

I stopped my movements suddenly as the deep blush returned to my face. _Now_ everything was clear.  
But I didn't have much time to dwell on this unexpected insight.**  
**A shooting pain went through my calf as the muscles cramped up from the sudden stop in movement. All knowledge of my swimming ability left me as I started to flounder around in the water to try to keep my head above the task became more difficult as the pain became more acute, the wind was whipping up larger and larger waves, and I was loosing my will to keep struggling in the water.

So this was how it ended?

I was going to drown without ever telling him?

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Arthur Kirkland**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

"Here! Come now. Get on!" I yelled as I pulled out yet another student from the water and onto the boat.

I then turned to the other side of the boat to look for more students when Lorinaitis came up to the boat and climbed on. As soon as he was on he looked at Matthew in surprise.

"W-why is Jones's brother here?" He exclaimed.

Without looking back at him I yelled over the roar of the waves to explain, "He has good eyes!"

Lorinaitis must have looked over at Matthew again as I heard Matthew say, "I'm going to find Alfie!"

Only a moment later I heard my name being called out.

"Artie!" Matthew's voice had raised in pitch due to his own panic, "Alfie's over there!"

Lorinaitis looked over the side of the boat, "Ahh! It looks like he's drowning!"

"Mr. Lorinaitis." I said as I rushed to the side of the boat, "Look after Matthew."

"wha-? Wait! Mr. Kirkla—"

I never did hear whatever else he had said. I had already put one foot on the side of the boat and launched myself into the water without any sense of hesitancy. A single wasted moment could mean Alfred's life if I didn't hurry. I propelled myself forward frantically against the increasingly dangerous waves.

By the time I had reached Alfred, he had stopped struggling against the waves and was sinking quickly. I slipped one arm around his torso and pulled him above the water. Using my other hand I turned his head so he would be facing me, noticing that he was barely conscious.

"Alfred! Listen! I need you to hold your breath!" I yelled, "Can you do that for me?"

Somehow I noticed a minute nod just before he latched his arms around my torso, leaving my arms and legs free to propel us underwater, where the turbulent would not affect us as much.I only came up to the surface for us to take a quick breath and for me to make sure we were heading straight for the little island before diving down again.

Thankfully, Alfred never truly lost consciousness throughout the ordeal. _If _he did, I don't think he would be happy to find out that I had to take his first kiss by means of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

_ 'Arthur…_

_I…_

_Still haven't told you…_

_That it's not trust…nor appreciation…_

_Rather it's something so much more simpler…_

_This feeling.' _My thoughts ran disconnected as I held onto Arthur for dear life.

"Alfred?" I had tried to keep my eyes somewhat open as Arthur swam both of us to the island but now that we had come under some sort of cover, I was able to open my eyes fully and the first thing I saw was Arthur looking down at me with wide worried eyes.

As my head cleared up, I began to notice more of my surroundings. Something soft and wet was laid over me; it was the shirt Arthur was wearing earlier. Arthur was leaning over me with one hand on my shoulder. Behind him I noticed large rocks that helped hold up the lower branches of trees that were sheltering us from the rain.

Just as soon as he noticed my eyes wandering around to see where we were, he started to explain, "We are at the small island. When the rain stops we will go back to the camp." As he spoke he looked away from me and out at the stormy ocean.

The overwhelming realization that I had gone through earlier as well as a rush of gratitude started to flood through me. I brought up my left hand to guide Arthur's face back towards me yet soon afterwards I used the back of my right hand to cover my eyes, so I wouldn't have to look straight at Arthur.

"I'm sorry." I said, "I'm sorry I couldn't lie very well…"

A deep breath, "but it's just so _hard…"_

Another deep breath,

"…when I love you."

I lowered my right hand just in time to see Arthur's features soften and a hint of a blush appear.

"I love you Arthur." I repeated more firmly.

Instead of answering he brought up his hand to my left one and leaned his head to it, allowing my hand to press against his warm cheek and my fingers to touch the soft wet locks of his hair.

"I really love you." I said again, wanting nothing more than that message to sink in.

He closed his eyes and again did not respond. The only reaction I could see was the large blush that started to cover his face. For some reason he was frowning and his brow was furrowed in concentration.

"I—!"

"_Stop it!_" he cried out and I suddenly found myself being lifted up into a tight embrace. He had wrapped one arm around my back and his other hand pressed my head towards his shoulder.  
One of the things I remembered most was that his skin was so hot in that moment and I could literally feel his heartbeat thumping frantically, for once even faster than my own.

"Do you want me to be reckless with you?" He asked edgily, "Do you _want_ me to lose control?"

Before I could respond, from far away I suddenly heard Toris's and Matt's respective cries of "Where are you!" and "Alfiiiiie!"  
The atmosphere I had created with my confession was shattered as I started to panic.

"Oi, Arthur!" I exclaimed in alarm and when he didn't answer and instead pushed me down to the ground, I tried again, "Arthur, people are coming!"

But just as my back touched the ground Arthur had pulled back enough for me to see his entire expression clearly.

"Not yet." He declared softly with sharp unreadable eyes. His unexpectedly intense gaze cut through me and brought an unprecedented amount of blood to my already dizzy head.

Without warning he came back down and I suddenly felt his lips on my neck once again. I probably would have enjoyed the moment if Toris's, now alarmingly louder, voice hadn't called out,

"Are you guys here!" He and Matt had walked around the boulders that Arthur and I had been hidden behind.

A split second before they rounded the boulders, I had pushed Arthur off of me and scrambled back. Unfortunately that ended up with Arthur being pushed back too far and his head crashing into the boulder behind him.

Toris froze as he came around the rocks, "A..Are you alright?"

"YES!" I responded hastily.

"I…was actually talking about Mr. Kirkland." Toris said as he and I looked over to where Arthur was slumped against the boulder, unconscious. Or faking unconsciousness at least…  
But if there was one thing that I knew for sure, Arthur would exact revenge for my abrupt action…and I would find my neck covered with more than just one kiss mark.

_And worst part of all this…_

_Was the fact that this was only the first day of that stormy seaside summer camp…_

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**OMAKE**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Toris Lorinaitis**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

After finding the two of them on the island, I couldn't help but start to think that they were rather suspicious…

Jones always twitched uncomfortably or flinched and turned bright red whenever Mr. Kirkland approached him, even if it was to ask so innocent a question as "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Yes…I thought that they were definitely suspicious, especially after Feliks insisted that I listen to his theories about Jones's love life.

* * *

Author Note: Yay, plot development!~ Alfred now has a cover story to keep the marriage secret, _and _he's finally confessed to Arthur~~  
^/^ I was so happy when I read that part in the manga of Kisu Yori~~

As for any illustrations for this chapter...I didn't have much time this week, that I couldn't choose what to draw since I was simultaneously working on a second Fanfic called "Turning Point: Gettysbug" which is also a UKUS story, much shorter than this one though.

So if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know and I'll do my best to draw it~


	9. 8: Stars

Author's Note: Ok...so it may not be enough to say "I'm really really really really _really _sorry for how obscenely late this chapter is"...but I'm really really _really_ sorry for how obscenely late this chapter is... (I wanted to finish off "Turning Point: Gettysburg" (another UKUS fanfic of mine))

But...but...I worked hard on this though, and I hope you all like it and for every one that waited patiently for me _THANK YOU_ so very very much~ And I'm ever grateful for those of you that read and reviewed the previous chapter, I love you all!~

Oh, and I have a surprise message at the very bottom ^_~* But you're going to have to read through the chapter to get there...unless you want to cheat and scroll all the way down X3

As always, if I find something wrong in the chapter I'll likely edit and revise it~~

Warnings: Yaoi~ and, like, _one _swear word (I think)...oh and Feliks-speak...quite a bit of it (and yet I enjoyed writing all of his dialogue~)

* * *

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Chapter 8: Stars**

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_For the first time since we had gotten married,  
I finally told him my feelings._

_And…  
I had yet to get an answer_

~.::*::.~

"…love you…Arthur."

"So, it's, like, _not_ that Bonnefoy guy that you're, like, in love with."

Oh what a lovely way to begin my morning; the first thing I saw was Feliks. He was right by my bed, kneeling on the side and resting his head on his hands that were folded on top of the sheets. Need I mention his large Cheshire grin? He was staring at me intently as I blinked the sleep out of my eyes.

"Ahh!"

Even though it was a delayed reaction, I bolted off the bed and ended up landing on the ground on the other side because the Inn's beds were annoyingly narrow. Rubbing the back of my head, I looked up at Feliks who had plopped onto the bed and was laughing at me from over the edge.

"You should have, like, seen your face! It was hilarious, seriously!" He said through his giggles.

"Geez…What was that for?" I asked sorely, not expecting him to suddenly become serious.

"You…" His smile faded as he came off the bed to crouch down by my side and continued, "were, like, mumbling in your sleep. And I so heard some of it."

A shiver went through me…just what had Feliks heard exactly? I sat up and asked him.

He smiled slyly before nonchalantly saying, "Oh…nothing much…just stuff like 'I'm sorry' and then 'love you' and then 'Arthur.' Like, who is he by the way? I don't know any students by that name…unless…" he pondered for a bit as the knot in my stomach tightened, "…isn't it, like, Mr. Kirkland's first name—mmfh!"  
I had suddenly clamped his mouth shut with one hand and pinned him to the ground.

"Don't…just…don't" I shook my head in an attempt to get rid of the sudden fear of being found out. He struggled for a moment but he somehow managed to pry my hand off of his mouth.

"Seriously, Alfred! Just, like, _chill_, ok? It's not like I'm saying you're, like, _in love_ with our teacher."

"…" I didn't answer but it was obvious that the sudden flood of heat to my face said it all.

"Oh my God! You're, like, totally _not_ serious right? But…you are, aren't you!" He exclaimed. I covered his mouth again.

"Feliks, I swear—If you tell _anyone_." I trailed off on my threat and just settled with glaring before pulling my hand away.

"Like I said, _chill_." Feliks smiled broadly and yet there was an edge to it, "I won't tell anyone as long as you do something for me."

I stiffened then asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Feliks frowned again suddenly, his rather odd way of speaking vanished for the moment. "I want you to stay away from Toris."

"Toris? What does Toris have to do with any of this?"

"I just want you to stay away from him! The closer he gets to you the farther away he gets from me!" Feliks burst out and as I stared down at him in surprise; _something_ finally clicked in my brain.

"You like Toris?"

"What does it look like! But it's so obvious that Toris likes you!" He poked me in the chest, glaring accusingly. Although I knew he was trying to be angry at me…he looked more hurt than anything else.

"What?"

"Don't tell me…you, like, never noticed?" Feliks asked, eyeing me incredulously, "You really are thick-headed…or just, like, _obsessively_ in love with our teach—" Feliks got to work again to pry off my hand from his big mouth.

While he was doing that, I couldn't help but feel a bit bad for not noticing. From what I knew, Feliks and Toris were best friends. It must have really hurt him to think that his best friend was seemingly leaving him for someone else.

"How about this Feliks," I started as I sat back and removed my hand for the last time, "I'll help you out with Toris and you can help by keep my relationship with Arthur secret."

Feliks's face lit up as he sat up. "Are you serious? So you're not only, like, in love with him, but you're having a _secret relationship_ too?"

…

Damn it…

~.::*::.~

Thankfully Raivis and Eduard (my other temporary roommates) were busy brushing their teeth in the bathroom while Feliks and I were…talking.

"Morning," Raivis yawned as we entered the bathroom.

"Good morning." I answered as I went up to one sink and got my toothbrush and paste. Just as I looked into the mirror, something on my neck caught my attention. It was a small red mark right at the base of my neck. I leaned forward to look at it closely in the mirror and as it happened, Eduard noticed it as well.

"What happened to your neck Alfred?" he asked.

"I wonder what it is." I murmured even though I already had a certain sneaking suspicion.

"Well you almost drowned yesterday right? You must have hit your neck somewhere," Eduard suggested.

"Maybe you got bitten by a bug?" Raivis added.

"Or" Feliks said dramatically as he draped on arm around my shoulders to peer at the mark via the mirror, "Is is, like, a kiss mark?"

In record time the temperature of my face increased exponentially and as funny as my red face may have looked, the stunned expressions of my roommates were probably just as amusing. However I didn't notice them…my mind had gone back in time to the day before.

"_Do you _want_ me to be reckless with you? Do you _want_ me to lose control?" Arthur had asked when he pulled me into a tight hug. _

_His body…was a lot sturdier and stronger than I thought…_

_And the heat that radiated from his skin to mine…_

_And the sharp look he had when he had pushed me back into the sand…_

Wait…then this kiss mark was from that time?

I must have been frozen in that spot for the longest time, because when I snapped out of my thoughts even Feliks was panicking and asking me if I was alright.

"I was just joking Alfred! Seriously!"

"Snap out of it, you're scaring Raivis!"

~.::*::.~

_Just what in the world was I supposed to do now?_

…_Only by remembering that moment I became embarrassed and froze like this…_

_What was I going to do when I faced him?_

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Arthur Kirkland~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

"Oh, the sky is perfect today." I commented as I shaded my eyes with one hand and looked out at the sea.

Gwin was lounging on the top of my straw hat, enjoying the morning just as much as I was. I felt her suddenly sit up though and then call out, "Arthur. Look, there's Alfred. You wanted to ask how he was feeling right?"

I looked out of the corner of my eyes and sure enough I spotted him.

"Mr. Jones!" I called out cheerfully.  
It looked like he was trying to sneak away, but I saw him suddenly go rigid at the sound of my voice. Curious and a tad concerned I walked up to him.

"How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywh—?" I had gotten close enough to place a hand on his shoulder. Unfortunately my hand stayed there only long enough to feel him quiver before abruptly turning around.

Suddenly I found myself on the ground, face down to the sand…with a fairly massive headache. Honestly…if I didn't have all those years of fighting experience…I would have been knocked out at that point.

"Hey! Mr. Jones! Why did you hit him? And moreover you head-butted him!" I heard Zwingli's voice over a megaphone as Alfred dashed away.

"Oh dear," Gwin fluttered down till she was on the sand right by my ear, "It looks like Alfred was very much affected by yesterday …Although…I would have to say it's rather a strange reaction."

"I get the feeling this is my fault…" I muttered and shook the sand out of my hair as I propped myself on my elbows and immediately saw a pair of feet in front of me.

"Are you alright Artie?"

I looked up, "Oh, Matthew! Good morning." I took his outstretched hand and got up.

Behind him Francis was laughing and I knew that he had seen the entire thing. He had one hand stroking his chin mock-thoughtfully.

"Just what did you do to little Alfie, hmm? Arthur?" He asked with smirk.

I glared up at him and quickly answered, "Nothing."

"Nothing much anyway." Gwin added and caused Matthew to laugh before covering his mouth. Francis frowned slightly as he looked down at Matthew, obviously feeling left out due to his inability to hear Gwin.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_What is there to be embarrassed about now?  
We're even married…  
So why am I still acting like this…?_

_But…  
The moment I realized I loved him…  
I started to be so_ aware_ of him._

_Yet he still manages to keep the same attitude…Wasn't he affected by this at all?_

~.::*::.~

After my violent (and completely reflexive) reaction to Arthur's lightest touch, I had run away as fast as I could. I managed to get to the sea wall and this time, instead of sitting on top of it, I hid myself behind it. I pressed my back against the wall and brought up my knees. My hands curled into my hair in frustration.

This was no good! If I kept reacting like this then everyone would start to suspect us…I needed to calm down.  
In an attempt to do so, I mentally recited multiplication tables, starting at 1 x 1…

12 x 11 is 122…

12 x 12 is 144—Done!

"Alright! I'm fin—" I got up from behind the sea wall and hopped over it…only to see Arthur. The first things that flooded my mind were the memories from yesterday and…  
I completely blamed the inundation of blood for the cause of my sudden dizziness…and, ahem, my, ah, fainting spell.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Arthur Kirkland~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

I had left Gwin to play with Matthew and I was planning on going out into the water, so I had removed my shirt. Unfortunately just as I had managed to pull it off I heard something sound like a strangled cry nearby. However Lorinaitis distracted me from looking to see where the sound had come from.

"Hmm, What is it, Mr. Lorinaitis—ah!"  
I jumped slightly as he poked my arm and then my shoulder with one finger; his eyes were scrutinizing me with a surprising amount of curiosity. Then again…he _was_ aspiring to be a sports trainer.

"It's so hard…What's with these muscles Mr. Kirkland? Do you play some kind of sport?" He asked.

"Eh, well no, not really" I answered and added in my head, '_I fought often though…'_

"You're more athletic than you appear." He commented, "You saved Jones from drowning yesterday so easily…and you also carried him off on your shoulder during the sports festival…"

I laughed and hoped I didn't sound as nervous as I thought when I saw the suspicion clearly written on his face.

"…And actually…Aren't you being overly protective of him?" Goodness this guy was getting closer to the mark every moment.

I looked at him seriously for a moment and started, "…well,"

I was cut off by a yell from Lukasiewicz, "Alfred, like, got a nosebleed and he totally fainted! I'm serious, Look!"

I looked over there and sure enough, Alfred was sprawling on the sand. Looking back at Lorinaitis I finished my sentence, "That's because he always causes trouble. Now if you will excuse me."

I sighed slightly as I picked up his limp body. Really…just once I wanted to know what went on in his head that made him act like this…  
Once I was sure that he was securely in my arms I started towards the seaside building where the classes had lunch; it was equipped with a little clinic as well.

**~.::*::.~**

I laid him down on the clinic bed just as Francis and Matthew arrived. Worriedly Matthew rushed over to where Alfred was as I talked to the lifeguard who was stationed there.

"Don't worry, I'll watch over him" I told her.

"Are you sure? Then I'll go patrol the beach and be back in a bit."

While we waited for Alfred to come to, I had gone to the eating area and bought a slushie; it would help him cool down at least. When I got back, Alfred was awake and he was just sitting up and talking to Matthew.

"Alfie! Are you ok? You're not feeling well? What happened?" Matthew's barrage of questions was laced with anxiousness. In an attempt to calm him, Alfred pulled him onto the bed and situated him on his lap to give him a hug.  
While Matthew held onto him tightly, Alfred pulled out the rolled up tissue that was put into his nose to stop the bleeding.

"I'm ok Matt. Don't worry." Alfred said softly.

From a chair beside the bed, Francis spoke up, "It seems Matthieu is still scared after seeing you almost drown in front of 'is very eyes yesterday. 'E was quite unsettled last night too."

"Ah! I'm sorry. Did he cry in the middle of the night? It's happened a lot after our parents passed away…but it's not too bad anymore…" Alfred tightened his hold on Matthew.

"I see." Francis's expression had softened.

Gently Alfred pulled away from Matthew and looked at him.

"Matt you idiot." He said softly as he knocked his forehead to Matthew's, "I'm not going to become a 'star' just yet. Ok?"

Matthew mumbled his response, "ok.."

"Alright then," Alfred said cheerfully, "I'm fine! Go have fun on the beach and bury Francis in the sand for me!"

"Ok!" Matthew's expression had finally lit up with a smile.

"Oi!" Francis protested and pouted slightly, "Matthieu will you really bury me in ze sand?"

"Yep! But I won't bury your head, so don't worry."

"Ah…really…" Francis pretended to look exasperated then he glanced up at me and smiled suddenly, "Shall we go zen? We should let zese two be alone for a bit right?" At that point I was almost standing right by Alfred's bed, and he had yet to notice me.

"Stars?" I asked and held out the cold drink as Francis and Matthew left, "Did you mean your parents?"

It took him all of one second to scramble back in the bed as far away from me as he could. He held up the blanket like a shield in front of him and had turned beet red.

Carefully I sat in the far corner of the bed and said, "Let's talk normally hmm? Alfred?"

I forced myself to smile a bit and apologized, "I'm sorry about yesterday. I did something so violent…" Alfred looked surprised slightly and let down his cloth shield. I came closer and placed the slushie onto the small side table.

"Did you get hurt anywhere?" I asked again as I reached out one hand to place it on the side of his face; he twitched slightly at my touch and drew back, closing his eyes.

"I'm fine…I'm…"

I came closer still and placed my other hand on the other side of his face as his words turned to a mumbling mush; he still didn't look up at me. Getting tired of this strained atmosphere, I decided to do something to lighten things up.

Pinching each of his cheeks I pulled on them experimentally to see how far they would stretch…and ended up with a rather funny (and cute, I suppose) face.  
It was just as he opened his eyes that I let go and succumbed to a fit of laughter.

"You—your face stretched so much—!"

"Wha—What are you doing?" he asked indignantly as he rubbed his cheeks and if possible, turned redder.

"I'm terribly sorry." I managed to say as my laughter subsided. Brushing a tear from my eye I continued, "But it was very funny. In any case…Please don't be so nervous. I won't do something like that again."

"Eh?" It took him a moment to realize that I wasn't talking about pinching his cheeks anymore.

I got up from the bed as I saw the lifeguard returning and just before I went to talk to her I said to Alfred, "I forced myself on you and made you scared…I can't apologize enough to your parents…"

I didn't look back as I exchanged a few words with the patrolling lifeguard and then left for the beach again. If I did look back…I probably wouldn't have been able to leave.

Going onto the beach I noticed that Matthew had stayed true to his word and there was now a large mound of sand sitting atop of Francis.

As I walked up to them Francis looked up at me, "Oh, Arthur. Is it ze end of your 'couple-time'?"

Ignoring his statement I flopped down onto the sand mound, sitting on top of his stomach; I got a little twinge of pleasure in hearing his groan.

"I messed up," I said.

"Hm?" Even Gwin was looking at me confusedly.

"I got too close to him…" I sighed as I looked out at the ocean, "It's troublesome…I wonder how I can hold him _without_ making 'im too wary of me…"

"What's with zat profound sentence…?" Francis muttered.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_In order to save us,  
My only brother Matthew and me, who had lost our parents…_

_He married me._

_And no matter what reason I came up with,  
I still thought I was happy…_

_And yet…why did I feel like _something_ was off?_

~.::*::.~

There were a lot of thoughts going through my head as I sat in the clinic. I pulled off my necklace to dangle the ring in front of my eyes.

I was going to be thinking for quite a while.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Toris Lorinaitis~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

Late in the afternoon, each of the students was given a trash bag and told to help clean up the beach area. Some people were also allowed to go down past the sea wall and onto the side of the road. Feliks, Eduard, Raivis and Jones had gone there while I was left on the beach.

As people started to finish up I heard an announcement from Vice Principal Zwingli on the megaphone, "Be sure to go back to the Inn after you're collected one bag. Change your clothes and we'll prepare for dinner."  
Dinner that night was planned to be a barbeque that the student's themselves would be helping to cook.

"Toris!" I turned around when I heard Raivis's voice. He and Eduard had come back onto the beach with full bags and I was just tying up my own.

"What's up?"

"Do you know where Feliks and Alfred are?" Eduard asked.

"But weren't you four on the road together?" I asked.

"Well…you know how Feliks tends to wander around so it's understandable that we can't find him…but even Alfred was spacing out." Raivis said with worry.

"So if you're done already, can you help us find them?" Eduard requested.

"Alright…"

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

While picking up trash by the road, I had managed to wander a bit farther down than I should have. Soon I was far from the Inn and the beach. Instead I was by a sea wall that bordered a large rocky cliff that plummeted straight into the water. I was so lost in my thoughts that I even filled up two bags of trash instead of the regular quota of only one.

'_Hold on…Now that I think about it…getting married is something a couple _in love_ does with each other right?...It's not a thing done out of sympathy.'_

It truly was sad that I was just fully realizing all of this now.

'_I finally notice our current indifferent husband-and-…eh…wife…relationship.'_  
I paused my train of thought as I bent down to pick up an empty tin can.

'_I'm surprised that he actually decided to marry me…and…even though I said that I love him, all I do is freeze up whenever he comes near to me…this is the worst…'_

Thankfully my rather depressing train of thought was interrupted by a beer can that flew and landed near me. As it rolled towards me I heard a cry, "Like, Stop it! Seriously!"

It could only be one person…

"You're really, like, bothering me, so let go!" I looked up, irritated to see two guys bothering Feliks. It seemed that they had mistaken him for a girl (because he was wearing a shirt and disturbingly short swimming trunks) and were trying to take him away.

I picked up the can and crushed it in my hand. I didn't have time for something like this; I was seriously anguishing over something here!

Taking the beer can into my hand and the other tin can I had picked up moments before, I threw each one at the two men. I made sure to mentally thank Toris for training me to hit a volleyball in a straight line, because that was the only reason my projectiles managed to hit the two guys' heads right on.

"Alfred!" Feliks called out in relief.

"Go ahead back to the Inn, Feliks. And have Arth—Mr. Kirkland call the police while you're at it!" I had yet another tin can in my hand and was tossing it up and down, glaring at the two guys.

Feliks ran past me and said, "You should hurry up too Alfred."

I turned and started to walk after him, "Of course, I can't stand guys like them…"

"Hey! Hold it!" One of the two grabbed the back of my hoodie and pulled. One of his fingers however, also curled around my chain.  
In a split second I felt a snap as my chain broke…

And my ring flew into the air.

My eyes widened as I realized it was flying straight for the giant boulders that made up the cliff beyond the sea wall. The ring clinked off of the edge of the wall and fell into the rocks.

"Ah!" I bolted towards the wall, "Ahhh!"

"Oi! What are you doing?" One of the guys grabbed my shoulder while the other grabbed my arm to hold me back.

"It's dangerous! Seriously!"

"Let go of me!" I struggled against them as I brought up one leg to climb onto the low wall.

"Hey cut it out already!" The guy that was holding onto my shoulder brought his arm around my neck and I lost all patience and likely my sanity as well. Without thinking I bit down on to his arm.  
Heh heh, he was sure to let go now right?

Turns out I never really needed to bite him because a moment later, two (filled) trash bags came flying though the air and hit each of the men the same way my cans had hit them.

"Are you alright Jones?" Toris was the one who had thrown them and Feliks was right behind him.

I ignored him and instead started to go over the wall. It was useless though, since both Feliks and Toris had grabbed onto my arms while I screamed, "Let me go! Let me go!"

The crazy scene finally ended when Coach Braginski arrived. His intimidating height itself scared away the two guys and although he was smiling, the atmosphere that he had around him managed to force even _me_ to abandon my search for the ring.

**~.::*::.~**

Within moments I found myself standing next to Arthur and Toris while the vice principal nagged at us for getting into trouble with the local "hoodlums".

While everyone else was at the outside barbeque area, Arthur, myself, Toris and Feliks were standing in a line while Vice Principal Zwingli's rage turned towards me. "Seriously, cut this out already! Yesterday you almost drowned and today you got into a fight! Can't you behave yourself a bit more?"

I was looking firmly at the ground, completely ignoring his rant; instead my mind was firmly wrapped around the loss of my ring. Not even Arthur's voice could snap me out of it.

"I'm terribly sorry. It's my fault for not having taught them properly."

"Exactly!" Zwingly continued, "And especially Mr. Jones! Can't you do anything about _him_ Mr. Kirkland?"

_I…I just can't say it, _I thought as the blood drained from my face, _How can I possibly tell him that…I lost the ring?_

**~.::*::.~**

"Oh?" I froze completely where I was when I heard a familiar voice, "Are you alone Alfred? Zat's dangerous. What are you doing over zere?"

I was, at that point, crawling over the boulders in search for the ring after I craftily snuck away from the barbeque area. I turned my head and flinched slightly when I saw Francis walking with Matt.

"We're about to go 'ome now…" Francis said, looking slightly worriedly at my precarious position close to the cliff edge, "Are you looking for something?

"Eh?" I struggled to answer when Matt came to the rescue.

"If you're looking for crabs there are a lot over there!" Matt pointed to a spot a bit farther down and nearer to the sea wall.

I scrambled towards the spot he had pointed out. "Ah, R-really? I'll go have a look! Thanks Matt!"

Great, what was I supposed to do now? I couldn't find it!

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Arthur Kirkland~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

"Mr. Kirkland, Alfred, like, went to get something he forgot at the beach…but he totally hasn't come back yet." I heard Lukasiewicz and turned from where I was cooking on the grill to answer him.

"Hm? He's gone again? This time for something he's forgotten?"

Lorinaitis came up behind Lukasiewicz adding, "After all that trouble, he's really been acting strangly"

"I know right? He was, like, trying to jump off the cliff…It seriously freaked me out!"

I was busy trying to figure out what had possibly caused Alfred's odd behaviour when Lorinaitis suddenly called out, "Ah! Jones is over there…doesn't he look like he's going out again?"

Sure enough when I turned, Alfred was looking around nervously as he quietly snuck out of the dinner area; a flashlight was in his hand.

"True." I said shortly, "Well…in that case…Mr. Lorinaitis, can you look over the barbeque for me? I'm going to bring him back."

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

I could only hear the tapping of my feet as I ran down the path at a steady pace. Gripping the flashlight firmly I looked up as I said out loud, "Wow…it's gotten completely dark. I wonder if I can find it with a pocket flashlight…"

"What are you looking for?" I heard a voice nearby.

"Well its…" I started before turning my head towards the voice, "Ah!"

Arthur was effortlessly keeping up with me as he asked yet another question, "Where are you going?"

"Arthur!…I-I-I-I-I'm not going anywhere in particular!" I stuttered out and increased my speed.

"Not anywhere in particular huh? Then just stop for now." I heard him say and less than a moment later a warm hand curled around my wrist tightly.

"NO!" I cried out. Immediately stopping, I turned sharply on my heel and used the momentum to jerk out of Arthur's grasp. Uncontrollably, thoughtlessly, the first words that came to mind flew out of my mouth, "Let go of me!"

I never wanted Arthur's expression to turn out like that.

His hand had reflexively pulled back and it hung empty in the air; his lips curved and parted slightly into the smallest of frowns; I really, _really_ wished that I imagined the hurt I saw in that face.

But I just bit my lip and turned around again to start dashing away.

"…I'm sorry!" I called out as if it was suitable enough for my unreasonable outburst. He had no idea why I was acting in this way. I clamped one hand over my mouth as guilt overflowed.

I made him have that sort of expression…

Just what in the world was I looking for?

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Matthew F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

"I don't think Alfie's coming back" I announced to Francis. We had waited at that spot by the sea wall for Alfie; he had been looking for something so recklessly, so we wanted to help him find whatever it was.

"I'll go get a flashlight from ze car. It's getting really dark," Francis said, "Don't move from zere, ok Matthieu?"

"Ok!"

From where I was sitting on the wall, I turned towards the sea and looked up. There were so many stars…Mom and Dad were up there too, weren't they? I wondered when I would get to meet them again, and if they were watching me and Alfie, like Alfie told me they would.

Suddenly I saw something glinting from the rocks below. There was a star on the ground? Were stars even able to fall from the sky?

Excited I bent down for a better look and pushed my glasses farther up the bridge of my nose. My eyes widened as I realized what it was.

"Eh? Alfie's ring?" I cried aloud. _Wha-What do I do? Francis isn't back yet!_

I looked around frantically up and down the empty street then looked back down into the rocks.

So that was what Alfie was looking for…I frown as I judged the distance from where I sat to the rocks, the ring was awfully close to the edge…but I really wanted to go and get it for Alfie.

With my silly decision made, I didn't wait for Francis. It took only one jump from the sea wall for me to get down to the rocks.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_I'm scared of "loving."_

"_Love" made me more attached to a person._

_And the more attached I got…_

_The more I was afraid of losing that special person._

**~.::*::.~**

_I don't want him to hate me. _I thought frantically as I continued to run down the sidewalk, _I want him to like me, and yet…both my body and feelings freeze up when he's near me…I'm such an idiot!_

_And…I didn't want…to make him look so sad…_

I slowed down as I reached the spot where the ring fell into the rocks, only for my heart to stop the instant I saw my brother out on the edge of the cliff.

A frightened yell was torn out of my throat, "Matthew!"

Matt looked up with a start, surprised at my sudden arrival. I immediately realized that I shouldn't have startled him so; he was staring to lose his balance.  
Without thinking I immediately hopped up onto the sea wall and didn't stop as I went onto the boulders. Just as he slipped fully off the side of the cliff I jumped off right after him, our arms outstretched to catch each other.

"Matth—" I didn't finish, because just as I fully wrapped my arms around Matt, I briefly saw yet another hand pass over my face before securely holding the top of my head. Another warm arm wrapped around both me and Matt tightly. I remembered feeling a familiar warm body pressed against my back just before we hit the water.

_Even after my outburst…he still ran after me?_

I also remembered that our dive into the water wasn't a smooth one…the person who protected both Matt and me had hit a rock just a few feet under the water.

~.::*::.~

"…_The stars?" Matt asked two years ago._

"_That's right! Mom and Dad became stars in the sky" I told Matt as I wiped away a few tears. It had been a few hours since the funeral._

"_C-can't we—sniff—meet them anymore?"_

_I swallowed as I put a hand lightly on his cheek. "It'll be a really long time before we can meet them again…but now that they've become stars, they'll always watch over you. So stop crying! They wouldn't want that!"_

"_Alfie…y-you're not crying…"_

_I forced a smile to my face; I had to be strong for him…we only had each other now._

"_Yep, I'm the big brother after all. It'll be tough for us from now on, so I can't afford to cry! So…Let's do our best Matt!"_

**~.::*::.~**

_One year ago…I thought, "The only person I'm afraid of losing now is Matthew."_

_But right now…_

**~.::*::.~**

"See?" A warm voice…"Didn't I tell you that I'm alright?"

My hand slipped from where I had placed it on Arthur's cheek when I was first allowed to see him. Abruptly, I buried my face in my arms as I leaned over his knee from where he sat on the hospital bed. On the other side, Matt was firmly latched to his arm.

"Come now. Stop crying!" His hand combed through the back of my hair.  
As if that could make me stop…I thought he was dead when I saw all that blood.

Thankfully Francis had arrived at the scene from where we fell and immediately called an ambulance. Despite the amount of blood he had lost, thankfully Arthur only suffered a wound on his right shoulder from the rock that he had hit under the water.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Arthur Kirkland~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

"…Yes, I understand. We're coming back now." I said into the phone. The doctor had let me go after my shoulder wound was patched up; which was good, I had worse scraps than this injury many times before. I hung up sighing slightly, the vice principal had gotten ridiculously angry once again; I was definitely on his bad side now.

Behind me Francis was standing with Matthew, practically shaking and looking rather pale.

"I'm sorry…Arthur…It happened just as soon as I looked away."

For Matthew's sake, I didn't glare at Francis, I just smiled as I threatened him, "I'll hit you when we get back." I had to admit: it was rather pleasing to see how he squeaked at that.

"Alfie!" Matthew got my attention he held out something in his hand. Alfred's ring?

"Give this to Alfie…He was looking for it…"

"…I see." I said as I ruffled his hair lightly, "I will."

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_How should I face him when I apologize?..._

I just couldn't bear to stay in the hospital so I escaped out to the beach that was just outside of it. Sitting in the sand I furiously, and rather fruitlessly, tried to get rid of the tears…but they just ended up smearing my face and glasses. Urgh…I just felt horrible.

"Alfred!" I heard Arthur's voice as he came down the beach, "Let's go back. The Inn is actually near here."

I flinched violently before responding, "I—"

I couldn't look up at him after all so I just turned around from where I sat and bowed my head down. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"…about losing the ring?" He asked lightly.

"…" _He found out…_

I gulped before saying, "I'm sorry for losing something so important."

"That thing isn't important," he said bluntly.

.

.

.

"WHAT?" My head snapped up in disbelief.

"I'm saying that YOU'RE more important than the ring!" He yelled back. I flinched and sat back slightly.

"…"

"I'm sorry. I always say whatever I want…" he sat down as he continued, "I bound you with a marriage and a ring that don't actually mean anything at all.  
…But I was really happy…when you said you love me.  
I know that you're really afraid to lose someone important to you…and you need to have courage to consider someone special to you right?" He smiled gently.

"I'll cherish you to make up for your parents who passed away." He then sat up a bit straighter and held out one hand. "Please, allow me say it this time-

Will you marry me?"

I bypassed his hand and just went forward to wrap my arms around his neck and shoulders

**~.::*::.~**

_Mom…Dad…_

_How can I be so happy…_

_Now that I have one more person that I'm afraid to lose?_

**~.::*::.~**

"Alfred. Are you still afraid?" Arthur asked softly as he let me slide down and come to rest my forehead at the base of his neck.

"…No…just embarrassed…" I replied.

He tilted his head slightly down, just as I pulled back to see him fully.

"…more?" Our faces were all but an inch away from each other.

_Ah…a kiss?_

"…yes." My eyelids slid down on their own accord…only to end up feeling a single finger land on my lips.

My eyes snapped open to see Arthur smiling, "You'll have to wait until summer break for the continuation of this."

"Wai—Why!"

"Well, we're on a school field trip right now. If that's not enough of a reason for you, I'll kiss you on the neck instead. Chu~"

"What are you talking about…? NO!"

Of course I let him do what he wanted anyway, knowing full well that I'd be borrowing a scarf from Feliks to wrap around my neck the next day to hide the kiss marks.

**~.::*::.~**

_Alfred F. Jones_

_16 years old_

_Newlywed_

_With many troubles still brewing, we, the newlywed couple, were still waiting for the real start of our first summer together._

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Omake~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Feliks Lukasiewicz~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

Toris and I were, like, carrying fireworks to the rest of the class when we overheard Vice Principal Zwingli on the I, like, remembered was that he mentioned Alfred and a hospital, so we got all worried and stuff. We then, like, went up to the principal and got permission to go pick up Mr. Kirkland and Alfred.

Of course, Toris was, like, so _totally _for it, you know? With his obvious crush on Alfred and all. Seriously, didn't he even, like, _see_ me standing there? Guess not…

Anyway~ so we, like, arrived at the hospital right? Then we were told that they had already, like, left, so we were, like, going back to the barbecue to watch the fireworks when we heard voices down at the beach by the hospital.

So we went there and I, like, _almost_ squealed (but I didn't cause then Toris and I'd be found out).There Alfred was, giving Mr. Kirkland a big hug!Oh my God it was just soooo adorable! I totally swear that they were, like, about to kiss. It was a total bummer that Mr. Kirkland stopped before they did though…

(I noticed that Toris had turned bright red and I had to, like, seriously say that that was really cute too. )

Even though we couldn't hear what they were talking about, I could tell that I kinda, like, had to stop Toris from rampaging down there and breaking up their, like, totally _precious_ moment. So I, like, swooped in and started to drag him away, all the while, like, insisting that he ought to just leave the two of them alone…seriously.

The next day was so fun though. I got to, like, tease Alfred for all of the red spots that spontaneously showed up all over different parts of his neck, but I gave him one of my bandana's so he could, like, hide it all.

I guess the only bad part was how Toris completely ignored me and observed Alfred and for the entire trip back to the school…

* * *

Author Note: Goodness Poland-speak is so _difficult_ to write! My…My writing style…TT^TT….so. many. commas….O_o…  
I swear I'll never use the words /like/, /seriously/, or /totally/ ever again! (Unless I find myself needing to write in Poland's POV or his dialogue _again_)

Ah…but I love him anyway~

Oh yeah~ For that special message that i mention at the top:

In gratitude for the patience of my readers I have submitted two *fully coloured* pieces of art on my Deviantart account~ (link on my profile)

They are: *An Alfred collage and *The scene on the little island from the previous chapter (you know, after Arthur saved Alfred from drowning)

Surprisingly...I'm actually going to say that I'm _proud (gasp)_ of these two pieces...especially the second one X3... and that doesn't happen often~ So I can assure you that these may be my best works for this fanfic yet~~ ((They took so long to do...=_=, and it's also part of the reason why this chapter is late...))


	10. 9: Fireworks

**A/N: Yaa, I'm late uploading this chapter too _ I'm really really sorry, but I have a good excuse- Exams + Orchestra Performance + Dance Perfomrance = (X_X)**

**In any case, I do have some illustrations planned for this chapter...they're just not...finished yet..**

**Edit: I have the first of two illustrations up on deviantArt~ I hope you all like it^^**

**Right so-Warnings: yaoi, light swearing~**

* * *

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Chapter 9: Fireworks**

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

"_You'll have to wait until summer break for the continuation of this."_

…_is what my husband/teacher had told me._

_So I waited anxiously for summer break—_

_And finally—_

_When the supposedly exciting summer break was supposed to begin—__  
_~.::*::.~

"Unqualified." Arthur announced curtly at the end of class; the tone of his voice caused me to freeze up.

He smiled maliciously as he held out my end-of-semester History exam so I could see the 30 percent failing score on it. I gulped and shrank back slightly to get away from the menacing aura that was surrounding the History teacher that also _happened _to be the man I was married to. It was just like me to fail my _husband's_ class.

"Make-up classes," he said shortly as one of his eyebrows twitched in irritation, "and a make-up exam."

**~.::*::.~**

_That's how I ended up with a literal mountain of homework…_

_And that's not even the least of it._

_I was forced to go back to school during the break…_

_And I couldn't even complain…'cause it was all my fault._

**~.::*::.~**

"I'm home."

"…Welcome back…" I responded, tugging down on the hem of my shirt fruitlessly.

"Artie's clothes are so big!" Matt exclaimed.

Out of all of my classes, I only failed the History exam; Because of _that_, Arthur decreed that I'd have to go through _some_ sort of punishment other than the extra homework and classes. So during the evening following the day that I got back my exam…t-the one order that I just had to follow was to…was to wear one of Arthur's business shirts…with my boxers…

And that was it.

For once, I cursed the fact that I was a good inch taller than him; the lower hem of the shirt reached just far enough to cover my boxers completely…but just barely.

Now if this wasn't cruel and unusual punishment I don't know _what_ was.

Trying to make me feel better, Matt had dressed up in the same way, but thanks to his height, the shirt was practically a dress on him. The lower hem nearly reached his knees and his hands had disappeared under the cuffs. In his excitement to get his customary "welcome-home" hug from Arthur, the sleeves flopped around comically.

As Arthur effortlessly picked up Matt, he looked at me with a wicked smirk.

"I will be helping you take that off right?"

"HELL NO!"

**~.::*::.~**

_Yes…_

_It was true that our feelings surged during the seaside camp_

_But did he really have to go and say something like that?_

…_and so bluntly too?_

_Yet…even though I noticed that the distance between us lessened…_

_For some reason my childish side steadily became more worried,_

_Because now it would be harder to keep up this act._

**~.::*::.~**

I idly flipped through the first packet of extra homework on my side of the desk in the guest room. Frowning at the amount of reading that had to be done, I just sighed and got to work.

Early on, Arthur had cleaned off half of the desk so I could work there on days that I had more homework than usual. He had even kept two chairs there for us to use. I remembered that there were plenty of nights when I had purposely put off my homework so I could stay up late with Arthur, otherwise I could finish it all before Arthur came home.

But I studied alone that night. The guilt gnawed at my mind for failing the exam and it caused me to go through the work much more slowly than usual.

_I guess it's part of the punishment, isn't it?_ I thought as I scribbled down one answer after another. I was still wearing Arthur's shirt as I did the work—and I had to admit: It was _way_ too distracting.

"Alfred. Don't move."

I suddenly heard his voice whisper by my ear as his hands fell on my shoulders. Jumping slightly, my shoulders tensed up and my fingers curled around my pencil nervously. I then heard a little jingle as Arthur slipped something around my neck.

"There, done." Arthur said, satisfied.

I looked down to see my chain with the marriage ring around it. I lifted it delicately, in amazement; I could hardly believe that I had it again, all this time I thought that it was still stuck in those rocks or fallen out into the ocean.

"Matthew found it. Try not to lose it next time, hmm?" Arthur kept one hand around my shoulders and came around the chair so I could see his face. Ah, now that soft smile was a fine contrast to his evil smirk earlier.

Flushing I looked away from him, and towards my ring again, "Yeah…I'll have to thank him later."

"Also…"

Gah—where did that soft smile go? It had been corrupted by a slightly evil glint.

"There still another week of classes left. In order to continue _that_, please work hard on your studies."

_Or else…_ I added silently.

**~.::*::.~**

The end of the week…

Arthur stood before the class just before the last bell was about to ring. Practically every student was counting down the seconds until they could run out of this make-up class.

"Alright, congratulations on finishing the make-up exam." He smiled brightly as he looked over at me before adding, "Who would have known that Mr. Jones was able to finish his homework so quickly?"

I glared up at him tiredly from where I had laid my head down on the desk. To say I was exhausted was to put it _very lightly_. Arthur had practically made me stay up the entire night, _every night_ to finish the cruel amount of homework he had assigned. I swear he gave me more than anyone else just out of spite.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Toris Lorinaitis~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

While make-up classes were going on the volleyball club had arranged to have a few summer practises. Things were going well as usual and that morning, in my opinion, was particularly pleasant. We were practicing right outside the class where Jones was taking extra classes in History. Now that their exam seemed to have finished, the windows were opened. I wanted to go over and talk to him but there was no way I could sneak out of practice.

Thankfully Feliks finally called for a 10 minute break. Within a few moments I realized that his mind was on a similar track to mine because he had gone over to the open windows to get Jones's attention.

"Like, What's up Alfred?" I heard him greet the taller blond.

"Ah, Morning Feliks." Jones came up to the window, he was smiling, but he looked awfully tired. However Feliks didn't seem to notice.

"Are you, like, going to see the fireworks? I heard that they're, like, going to be so _totally_ amazing!" Feliks was practically bouncing; he loved this summer festival.

"Well…I dunno…"

"Seriously…? C'mon! It's this weekend! Everyone from our class is, like, going to be there!"

Suddenly the nice view of the conversation was ruined as I saw Mr. Kirkland step up to the window as well.

I tuned out what he said, but he did look rather excited about the festival. I frowned as he smiled and talked animatedly with Jones. Tightening my grip on a volleyball, my arm decided to act on its own and in a split second the ball was hurtling towards the window—aimed straight for Mr. Kirkland.

However just as it went past Feliks and through the window, Mr. Kirkland leaned back as well as pushed Jones away from the balls trajectory. Damn…he was turned away when I had thrown it! How could he tell that the ball was heading towards him? Before Feliks or Jones turned to see who had thrown the ball, I was sent a sharp glare from my teacher. Frowning I glared back before pretending to be flustered before going up to the window to stand next to Feliks.

"Sorry!"

"Geez Toris, like, watch where you're throwing that!" Feliks scolded.

"That's right! What happened to your aim?" Jones added tossing back the ball to me.

Before I could answer him Mr. Kirkland spoke up and diverted Jones's attention, "It's alright Mr. Jones. Oh yes, I forgot to tell you: I can take those assignments from you now."

"Oh, Okay. You sure?"

"Yep."

As I watched their little exchange my mind went back to that night at the seaside camp. I was sure that I saw it—that night, by the shore, they were embracing each other. If Feliks hadn't literally dragged me away in my speechless state, I would have gone down there to demand an explanation from Mr. Kirkland.

When I first heard about Mr. Kirkland's history…about his being a delinquent while in school…I really didn't understand it much and I didn't think on it for long. But I was now sure that it must have been like this—

_Mr. Kirkland was just playing around with Jones!_

"Jones!" I called out as Mr. Kirkland walked away.

"Hm?"

Boldly I took both of his hands in mine and clasped them tightly, "If you're having any problems, come find me! I can give you advice!"

Suddenly a combination of Jones pulling his hands away with Feliks tugging on my hands forced me to step back from the window. Jones exchanged a glance with Feliks and just frowned.

"So, like, _anyway_~ Are you, like, going to see the fireworks?" Feliks took over the conversation. I didn't miss the annoyed puff of his cheeks as well as how tightly he had my wrist in his grip.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_Hmm…The fireworks huh?_

**~.::*::.~**

"You're not going? You should though, have some fun." Arthur said as he sat next to me at the dining table after dinner. He was helping Matt out with some homework.

"Hm…but it's such a waste of money…so nah" I replied, thinking about the fact that Arthur was the one who paid for all extra expenses…it kept nagging my guilty conscious…

Arthur protested with some sort of energy I couldn't explain, "What? Don't you realize that a teenager's youth is priceless?"

I looked away from him and straight ahead instead; there really was no point in going because…

"…You know Arthur…If I had to go, I'd only want to go with you." The willful words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them…I really needed to work on this mind-to-mouth filter thing.

"So…sorry." I finished and almost immediately I heard Arthur's soft sigh. It wasn't a disappointed sigh…it sounded more amused than anything else.

" Honestly…you're too cute" I twitched, he was really using that adjective often. Suddenly I felt a hand curl around my cheek, and turn my face to look over at him.

"But, If you want to go together, there'll still be an opportunity later right? Just because you're married to me, doesn't mean that I want you to lose out on any 16-year-old memories."

Ah…that's true; why did he always have to be so right? And so mature?

I pouted in defeat; well I would be going over to Feliks and everyone the next day to confirm my going to the festival.

"Ah!" Arthur said suddenly, "But first you'll have to finish two-thirds of your homework!"

Darn it…

**~.::*::.~**

_Geez…it was times like these…_

_Whenever I saw Arthur acting like an adult…_

_I realized how insignificant my 16-year-old self was._

**~.::*::.~**

On the day of the fireworks…Francis had gotten a hold of me, supposedly to take advantage of this chance to change my wardrobe. No matter how I protested, he insisted that I needed a bit more flair…

And flair is exactly what he gave…

_I_ personally thought the outfit was ridiculous at first, black jeans coupled with a single studded belt that was tilted off of my hip ever so slightly, a thin black shirt that clung to all of my torso's contours, and to finish it off he equipped me with a sleeveless white jacket where the bottom hem didn't go beneath my waist line…rather it was around my belly button.

Yes I thought the outfit was completely ridiculous…until I saw Arthur's blush when I finally got out of Francis's fashion-obsessed hands. His examining gaze caused me to fluster slightly and stutter out,

"Eh..How…How is it?"

"I think it's really cool!" Matt exclaimed, running up to me as Arthur's face darkened ever so slightly as he turned towards Francis with a calm smile.

France grinned proudly, "How is it Arthur? My friend helped me find it—oof!"

Swiftly Arthur had grabbed Francis's collar and punched him in the stomach while I was distracted by Matt.

By the time I looked up I was able to see Arthur wringing Francis by his collar and growling, "You've made him too attractive. Just who do you want looking at him, Huh?"

Francis cowered slightly, "No—It's just because the clothing material's good…so…"

My, what a fierce husband…

I did not just think that.

Luckily my train of thought derailed as Arthur finally realized I was standing there staring at him and Francis. Pulling away from Francis he brought out a slightly forced smile.

"…It's very nice Alfred. Go on!" The smile became broader…and yet I still felt no inclination to go watch the fireworks without him.

Even so my feet started moving down the street and away from Arthur.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Arthur Kirkland~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

I sighed heavily as I saw Alfred disappear down the street, however just as I was about to turn back towards the flat, I felt a slight tug on my sleeve. I looked down at Matthew, who was looking at me worriedly.

"…Artie, you actually…" He started hesitantly, "…You wanted to go with Alfie right?"

I bit my lip at first then smiled at how easily this child was able to see right through me, just like Gwin.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_I had held back what I truly wanted to say…_

_I wanted him to come with me…but…_

**~.::*::.~**

_I hate this! Out relationship's a secret so of course we can't go out together! I…I need to be more mature! _ I thought as I ran down the now crowded streets that were lined with stalls filled with games and merchandise. On the way to the meeting place where I was supposed to find Feliks, Toris, and a few others from our class, I noticed a particularly bright stall that had a number of masks. I especially noted a rather happy one with thick eyebrows that reminded me of Arthur. But at the thought of Arthur, I felt a small pang of sadness in my chest. Shaking my head I was relieved when I heard Feliks's voice calling out for me.

Just as I found the group, Feliks felt the need to profusely compliment my clothing, as did Raivis and Eduard. Many of the other boys and the members of the girl's volleyball team, I found, were rather quiet and many of them seemed rather flushed. Huh, I wondered if they had been out in the sun a bit too long that day…It was the summer festival after all, maybe the heat had gotten to them. Of course… the heat kinda didn't explain how most of them—especially Toris—were avoiding looking at me.

"Like, seriously, where did you get those clothes? Did someone _special_ get them for you?" Feliks cocked one eyebrow suggestively, and I blushed.

"Eh…not really…Francis decided to take over my wardrobe." I responded.

Feliks looked visibly disappointed for a moment then decided to bring me over to Toris for a different conversation.

Once we made sure everyone was there, we wandered around the booths, trying to win prizes and for the most part failing miserably. Yet I had to admit…I had fun. As I got caught up in the moment, I was able to forget that I didn't have Arthur beside me enjoying all of the game booths. I swear if he was here, I would have bought that mask, just so we could remember the occasion of course.

Time flew by as it normally likes to do while people have fun, until it was finally dark enough for the main event to start. Flares went up into the sky and I heard the characteristic deafening booms light up the air. Awed by the jumble of fiery colours my eyes were aimed up instead of around me.

When I finally looked down, I realized with as light shock that I was surrounded by strangers; there was literally no one I knew in sight. A sudden unreasonable bout of panic built up in my stomach as I looked and turned around slightly frantically and wondered just how in the world I didn't notice such a large crowd gather around me.

The fireworks continued, drowning out my words, "Where is everyone?"

"Hey! Over here! Jones!" I finally heard a familiar voice as I felt something firm and warm wrap around my hand.

I looked up from the hand that had caught my own and felt a wave of relief. "Toris! Thanks—I'm saved!"

"You okay?" He asked, just about as frantically as I was panicky.

"Yeah…and the others?" I asked.

"…Gone, I lost them too" He answered over the din, "But we've already set up a meeting place—"

He stopped abruptly as we both looked down at our intertwined hands. I wiggled my fingers ever so slightly…hoping he would let go. Briefly, thoughts of Feliks crossed my mind and I was about to pull my hand away completely when Toris finally spoke up again.

"There's a lot of people here and it's easy to get lost!...So…it's alright if we hold hands right?" He turned away as a few people in front of us cleared away, revealing a railing where the fireworks could easily be viewed. His grip on my hand tightened slightly as he looked up pointedly at the fireworks and I could feel a heavy emotion build up in the middle of my chest. Right at the very centre of my being…

Something…

Something like a ball of lead started to pile up there and I could suddenly feel my throat block up. I blinked furiously when Toris wasn't looking; something had begun to sting my eyes, blurring my view of the fireworks.

It didn't feel right…

Even for the sixteen-year-old me…

To be standing here…holding hands with Toris…

Hearing the fire works…

Being surrounded by this body heat…and wondrous odours from the food stalls…

All of it…together…just seemed to fade in quality in that moment. The booming clamour all around fell upon my deaf ears, the radiating light from the fireworks dimmed, the heat cooled and none of the food smells attracted me.

I suddenly felt the stupid impulse to let my frustrated feelings spill out and run down my cheeks, tear away from Toris's hand (within which mine just _didn't_ seem to fit), and just run.

Run all the way back to the apartment.

_Back to_ _him._

Back to the person whose hand easily curled around my own.

Back to the person who could bring back to life all the wondrous noise and colour and smells of the festival.

Because all of this…made me wish that I was just with that person—

In my distracted state of mind I barely registered the person who was running towards me and Toris. It was someone wearing a mask that had surprisingly distinctive eyebrows. I dimly heard Toris call out my name as I felt my hand force itself out of his grasp. I was thrown over the shoulder of the masked man. Two strong arms wound around the back of my knees and my waist, securing me so I wouldn't fall as he continued to run. My eyes that were now staring down at the pavement in amazement, widened further as I heard my kidnapper speak.

"Terribly sorry," he called out to Toris, his strong accent muffled under the mask yet still clear as day, "But I'll be taking him away."

My heart skipped faster to match the pace of his legs as they led me away from the festival and Toris's shocked expression.

"Arth—" I started to call out, but then stopped myself quickly as my hands curled around the back of his shirt and instead said exactly the opposite of what I wanted him to do:

"Let me go!"

What I meant to say was:

"Never let me go!"

But that was too tacky; it was much easier to say the inverse.

**~.::*::.~**

Arthur refused to stop running until we suddenly found ourselves at the school and in one of the classes on the top floor.

"I wanted to come here…Where two people can watch the fireworks together." He explained breathlessly.

He had let me down on one of the desks by the window so when I turned around I found that the fireworks looked perfect outside the window. It twisted around slightly to see them as Arthur found his breath. He was leaning over me, with one hand planted on either side of me, and strongly gripping the sides of the desk.

"The view's perfect isn't it? Better than the one out by the railing…" Arthur spoke up again and I turned back to look at him…or more so the top of his head as he was still curved over the desk in exhaustion.

"Speaking of which," He changed the subject, "Why did you look like you were about to cry—Ouch!"

Reflexively one of my hands had come up and whacked him upside the head. Surprised he straightened up and removed the mask to set it aside.

"This is all your fault!" I cried out, frustrated, "If you wanted to bring me here all along then you shouldn't have sent me off so happily! The 16-year-old me would have rather seen the fireworks with _you_ rather than with my friends? How hard is it for you to realize that!"

I already knew that I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him…and only him…

Because it was impossible to predict the very last second…

The people you loved the most could be taken away when you least expected it…

That's why…

I wanted to be with him…I wanted him to see _me…_see me for who I was then…even if it was just a naïve, oblivious, and violent teen.

"I…Even though I never pay attention…I keep hoping that you'll see me as I am now…and accept that…even though I know that saying all of this is really childish—"

"I don't think of you as a child at all!" Arthur cut in sharply, his voice momentarily raised. I froze up and straightened up my back from where I sat on the desk.

"…You pay attention now then…" He said as he came closer, "Although I may _seem_ mature…Didn't I still end up following you the entire evening? Didn't I still take you away from your friends?"

He was but three inches or so away now with one hand gently fit around my cheek. His gaze bored straight through me as he continued, "Do you understand Alfred? It's who you are _now_ that's made me become this way."

He sighed then, and let his hands slip down to grip the sides of the desk again. Almost cautiously he let his forehead hover over my shoulder; his body rigidly arched around me…and yet not even daring to come closer, much less touch me.

"Don't move," he murmured softly, "Right now…I feel like I just might do something forceful…" He shook his head slightly. "I have no idea how to touch you…everything I've ever done before has gone wrong…"

I gulped as I felt just about everything get warmer, especially the classroom. It was much too hot…was it because of the summer air…or my flaming cheeks?

Still…I wanted to do this.

"Then…" I started, lightly touching one of his arms, and letting my other hand's fingertips graze his jaw, "Can I be the one to touch you?" As I said this I slowly let myself lean forward, it had gotten to the point where the just the tips of our noses had touched. All it took was another inch forward—

"JONES,AREYOUOKAY?"

And so the atmosphere shattered.

Huffing frantically after bursting into the room, Toris stood as Arthur and I jumped out of our skins and attempted to put as much distance between ourselves as possible.

The true source of the (to put it lightly) _inconvenient_ interruption was Francis, who appeared at the doorway with Matthew in tow.

"I'm sorry Arthur! He called us through another student and forced me to spill everything."

I was ready to strangle him simple because of the way he managed to smile sheepishly as he quickly realized the scene he had just interrupted.

In an attempt to remedy the situation he turned his attention to Toris. "Look Tori~ Alfred's just fine! Artie wouldn't do anything vulgar in a classroom, he a teacher after all right?"

"Don't call me Tori!"

They continued to talk, but I tuned out and instead tried to restart my heart after it froze with Toris's arrival. I slumped over the desk as I sank into the chair. Suddenly I felt a light prodding at my arm and I tilted my head up ever so slightly to acknowledge Arthur.

"Hey, Alfred" He whispered, "Let's go somewhere further away next time okay?"

_Well…at least_

_Summer break had only just barely begun—_

Omake1:

Matthew Williams

In the end we got to see the fireworks in the classroom. I was standing at the window right next to Toris when I looked up at him and asked,

"Toris…You like Alfie don't you?"

Startled, he looked down at me, I smiled sweetly when I saw that his face had turned as red as Alfie's whenever Artie came too close.

He stumbled over his words, "I—I …Wha-d-d'ya mean? Me? Like J-Jones? Really?"

Later, when Toris wasn't looking, I glanced back to see Arthur staring over at Toris while Francis seemed to be fixing up Alfie's clothing—which I didn't see any point in doing; Alfie still looked fine. I then looked up at Toris briefly before looking back out at the fireworks.

Somehow, I felt a bit sorry for the volleyball player and I hope that he had someone that loved him twice as much as he liked Alfie.

Omake 2:

A conversation between Matthew and Francis

"Hah? Zose two still 'aven't kissed?" Francis exclaimed.

"Probably not…"

"What is zat idiot 'usband doing? Arthur really has too much self-control!"

* * *

A/N: Right, so a lot of you have been asking when these two are finally going to kiss. And to tell you the truth...I can't tell you that. xD

=_= I'm actually quite frustrated with them myself, but alas, it is the story, I'm trying to be patient as well. On a different note: As soon as i get the illustrations on DeviantArt, I'll put a note up at the top of the chapter^^


	11. 10: Partially Exposed

Author's Note: ...I admit...I got distracted because I restarted my planning out of the other mulit-chapter fanfic that I have recently begun uploading...so there is no excuse for this unexcusably late chapter... but I'm really sorry...it's just...i've been planning out that other fanfic for months and i was really excite about it =_=''

I do hope everyone enjoys this chapter though~~^^

As always your reviews and page hits were more encouraging than anything else!

Warnings: light yaoi, light swearing (it's only like...one word...I think)

Disclaimer: TT_TT I don't own hetalia.

* * *

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Chapter 10: Partially Exposed**

**~.::*::.~**

"_Hey Alfred, lets go somewhere further away next time, okay?" is what Arthur had suggested the evening after the fireworks._

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

"Wow! Look Matthieu, the water's so clear!"

Well…I shouldn't have been surprised; I already knew that we could not go out openly, so our only option was to make it look like a family camping trip. Yet I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed as I sat in the open trunk of the rented minivan. In our little campsite, we had already set up a few collapsible chairs before Francis and Matt wandered near the clear waters that this park was famous for. Arthur and I were the only ones left to set up the camp; _he_ seemed to be enjoying everything about the trip.

"It's incredible Alfred!" Arthur said as he smiled brightly, "You've already finished all of your summer homework. Now we can enjoy ourselves.

I responded rather bitterly as I grabbed the picnic blanket from the trunk and stood up. "Going to school during part of the break and working endlessly at night…_of course it's finished!"_  
At least…thanks to all that hard work, I finally proved that I was willing to do anything if it meant I could spend some worry-free time with Arthur.

I looked up at the sky as we unfolded the picnic blanket and set it on the ground. Ah, it had finally cleared up and the sun was shining brightly. I looked over at the river where Matt was playing in the shallow area, likely getting his shorts all wet in the process because he was so excited to be out camping for the first time. Francis had rolled up his pants before joining him and making sure he didn't get pulled away by the current in the deeper parts of the water. Now that the sun was free from any blocking clouds, the water seemed to sparkle as it ran its course.

"Alfie! You should come into the water—it's cold but it feels good! And there's fish too." His ear to ear smile warmed me up slightly; smiles like that had been rarely found until after we started to live with Arthur, who happened to be standing next to me.

Looking over at him, I said, "…Thank you."

"Hmm? For what?"

"Matt looks so happy. I haven't seen him have so much fun since before our parents passed away. That's why I want him to make lots of good summer memories. Since you've helped make that possible…I have to thank you." I flushed and looked away from his smile, choosing instead to observe with quite a bit of amusement how Francis lifted one of the rocks lining the river and surprising Matt by finding a crab underneath.

"You should too." I heard Arthur say.

"hm?" I turned slightly just as his hand reached around the back of my head to pull me closer to him. Lightly he kissed the tip of my ear and whispered into it, "We could make quite a few 'first date' memories too!"  
His simple words caused my mind to reel. It _was_ the first summer of our marriage…and here…far from the school and everyone we knew…we could create some…romantic memories…  
I had to force my mind to stop there else my head would overheat and I'd be knocked out for the rest of the vacation; I definitely could not let _that_ happen. There was only one way to stop a possible overload of sensory information that Arthur managed to create whenever he was within a one foot radius of me.

"Not the ear!" In an often-used reflexive motion, I shoved him away, not even noticing Francis and Matt looking over at us.

"What is zat stupid couple doing _now?_" Francis commented. He then seemed to notice someone walking in the direction of our campsite. "Hm?"

"Ah!" Matt pointed to the person, obviously recognizing him.

I, on the other hand, still hadn't noticed; I was busy rubbing the tingling tip of my ear and muttering to myself. "Geez…how many times have I told him _not the ear_? No means no…"

"What are you doing here?"  
Eh…now why was I hearing _this_ voice here? Momentarily numb, I turned around to come face to face with Toris of all people. He was carrying a box up on one shoulder and sported a Hetalia High volleyball team jersey.

It took all of two seconds for me to start panicking internally before I regained control of my voice. "Toris…why are you—?"

"I'm here for the summer volleyball training. Our campgrounds are nearby." Toris noticed my sudden nervousness and looked around suspiciously.

_Damn it!_ Arthur!—I quickly turned my head towards where I had shoved him earlier. Ah…good! He was safely hidden.

"Hmm…Where's Mr. Kirkland?"

"uhh…"

Thankfully Francis and Matthew had come to my rescue at that exact moment. The Frenchman and put one hand on my shouldher and smiled at Toris. " Arthur's not 'ere. It's just a family vacation, so we didn't invite others."

"Oh, Alfred! Like, no way!" Felik's chirping voice floated in as he jogged up to stand by Toris and, of course, Eduard and Raivis were right behind him.

"What a coincidence." Eduard smiled kindly.

"Ah, how nice; a picnic?" Raivis looked around at our small campsite.

Just before Feliks started to speak again, I noticed Toris was still looking around at the trees with a slight frown; I resisted the urge to tell him again that Arthur wasn't here. Luckily Feliks started to talk, "This is, like, our last day of training, so we're, like, celebrating with a barbeque."

Toris finally stopped looking around and added, "We've got more than enough to eat, so…if you want, why don't you join us?"

"Ah…no sorry" I had started to say but I was immediately drowned out by Francis's enthusiasum.

"Yes! A barbeque! Lets go!"  
Wait! He only wanted to go to the barbecue just so he could get out of cooking in tonight's camp fire!  
Oh great…just great…Now that Francis had already told them that we would join the barbeque, there would be no way for me to escape.

And Arthur would be left behind? All on his own? So much for making some nice "first date" memories.

**~.::*::.~**

Just as the volleyball club members got out of view I started to wring Francis by the collar. "How could you just say yes like that! What about Arthur? Are we just going to abandon him here? Answer me!"

Lucky for Francis, we heard rustling from a nearby tree and I got quite a start when I looked up to see what was causing the noise. Arthur was hanging upside down from a branch in the tree; it seemed that he had hid up there instinctively. His hair flopped down and looked messier than usual and I had to keep myself from staring as his shirt began to slip down as well. Crossing his arms he smiled as patiently as he could.

"I'm sorry…I really didn't expect that we would run into the volleyball club here. But now that it's like this, I don't have any excuse to be here. You three should go."

I shook my head to stop staring as his words sunk in. "But—"

"I'll be just fine." Yeah right, that's not what his expression told me, but I loosened my grip on Francis's collar as my shoulders slumped down.

Meanwhile Matt kept walking around in circles underneath Arthur, half fretting that he was going to fall, and half staring, simply amazed that he looked like a ninja. To ease Matt's worry, Arthur climbed up a branch and sat, right side up, securely on a thicker one. Looking down at us he continued.  
"Besides, I kept you all to myself during the fireworks festival. Why don't you consider it doing me a favour and go spend some time with your school friends?"

**~.::*::.~**

_Honestly…he just went and started to play the part of the "I'm just thinking for what's best for my student" teacher._

_He always did as he pleased—__._

**~.::*::.~**

I pouted irritatedly, even as I loaded my plate with barbeque that I had to admit looked, smelled and tasted wonderful. As I waited in line to get a bit of the next plate, Feliks came up to me.

"Hey, Alfred! Like, how are you? I like, haven't seen you since the fireworks, seriously!"

Glad for the distraction I smiled. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"No problem, seriously. Well we may have, like, totally gotten separated last time. But we should _so_ hang out again."

I nodded in agreement and politely spent a few more moments talking to him before wandering off to find Matt and Francis already eating at a picnic table. As I started to follow suit when I sat down by Matt, I overheard two boys talking behind me.

"Have you seen Toris?"

"Ah…I think he's still off practicing by himself…"

"He seems a little out of it lately. Well, since he hasn't come at all, someone should get him."

I didn't hear what else they said because Matt had begun to tug on my sleeve. When I looked down at him he held up an ear of corn in his hand and whispered, "This corn is really good. Um… do you think we can give some to Artie?"

I smiled broadly; that was a good idea. "Yeah. Thanks Matt." I ruffled his hair and excused myself from the table. Wrapping up a few pieces in a large napkin, I mentioned to Francis that I was going to the bathroom, which only gave me 10 minutes at most before people started to wonder where I was. But even if it was only 10 minutes, at least I had an excuse to run down the path back to where our picnic area was.

On the way, though, I got distracted when I noticed a volleyball court with only one person still practicing. He was busy bashing away at serves that seemed to land just outside the court. From behind I noticed the characteristic brown ponytail and knew it was Toris. Stopping for a moment I remembered how some of the other boys said that he was a little off lately and looked down at the corn in my hands.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Toris Lorinaitis~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

My power was as usual, but something was off about my accuracy. My hand didn't guide the ball like it was supposed to and yet another serve went out of bounds…just outside the corner.

'…_missed again?...' _ I sat back on the bench by the court. '_Ever since that night with the fireworks festival I've gotten worse…"_

I remembered the excuse Mr. Kirkland gave back then when I had found him so close to Jones in the classroom and my frustration just built up.

'_Just wanted to watch the fireworks with everyone in the classroom my foot! He literally snatched Jones away…If he really wanted everyone to be there, then wouldn't he have taken me as well?'_

Suddenly another thought popped up as I remembered what Jones's little brother (Matthew was it?) had said. _"You like Alfie…don't you?"_

"…" An uncomfortable prickle of head, not at all caused by the summer air, rose up in my face as I tried to figure out if what Matthew said was true or not.

"—ris…Toris!" I looked up abruptly, just in time to see Jones hovering over me. Why did he have to appear right when I wasn't ready to see him? Immediately I froze up, likely bright red from head to toe before I finally jumped back in my seat.

"J—Jones? Don't scare me like that!"

He laughed a bit sheepishly and smiled. "I heard you weren't doing too well from a few of the others…Ah, here—" He pulled out an ear of corn from the bundled napkin and held it out in front of me. "You'll feel a lot better after you eat this. It's really good, and a lot tastier than that sports energy stuff you have."  
I quietly took the ear of corn, my fingers trembling when they brushed against his hand. After I thanked him he turned to leave, still with that bright smile. "Oh, and Toris—maybe you should take a break from practicing too!"

Before I could comprehend what my body did, I reached out and grabbed his wrist to keep him from walking away. Suddenly as I looked from his surprised expression to my grip on his wrist and back, my blush go worse. "Ah…no…I…"

"What's wrong?" Ah…the smile went away; he looked concerned now.

I opened my mouth to answer, but in that moment two…_things_ were thrown and they hit the back of my head dead on. Whatever they were, they were rather sharp and poked my scalp before bouncing off and landing on the ground.  
"Ow!" I rubbed the prickling pain on the back of my head as Jones picked up the two spiky objects.

"Chestnuts?" He blinked, confused as to why chestnuts were being thrown around. "Are there monkeys around here?"

The pain finally ebbed a bit and I could numbly feel a certain oppressive aura of destructive willpower in the direction from where the chestnuts were thrown. Whoever threw those irritating things was definitely not a monkey, though I would currently rank him to be very close to one.  
_'Surely, it couldn't be…'_

"Look, Toris." Jones got my attention again as he tossed the chestnuts to the side and picked up his bundle of corn. "If you're having some sort of a problem…do you mind telling me about it? 'Cause you're my coach after all…I want you to be able to play volleyball to the best of your ability." He flushed as he smiled, ever so slightly embarrassed by admitting this.

That…smile…

That was the smile I had fallen for. What Matthew had said was now irrevocably true. My hand cam up again, this time to clasp his hand, and I sat up straighter, looking right up at him.

"I…I like you."

It took him all but two seconds to respond.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

I never was sure if I fully realized that Toris had just confessed to me when I answered…once again of course, without a single thought.

"I'm sorry."

A moment of pause followed our two sentence conversation as we reflected over what just occurred and suddenly a dark aura came over Toris as he bent his head down.

"You didn't have to reject me in two words…"

"Huh?...No wait!" I became flustered as I stepped back. "You just?"  
I uneasily felt a blush creep up at his confession as his grip tightened on my hand. "Let go of me…"

"Why?" He suddenly looked up with an irritated expression. "Is it because you're dating Mr. Kirkland?"

My heart nearly stopped at his statement. A queasy feeling filled my stomach. Now…what do I do? How should I answer him? My will wavered as all I could say was, "Let…Let go…", even though I could have easily twisted out of his grasp. The fear of his finding out the truth gripped at my heart and I was all but a step away from complete panic.

Yet this only caused him to stand up and pull on my hand as I tried to step back. "I won't let you go! What's with you all of a sudden?"  
I looked down, to the side, just…away. I looked away to avoid Toris's accusing eyes the best I could.

"A-a-ah…I have something I need to do, so let go!" I tried to say this with a bit more force as my mind raced around in circles asking: What should I do? He's practically figured it out…  
Panic started to raise up to a dangerous level as Toris went on, unusually fierce for his off-court personality.

"So you're going to see _him?_ He came after all, didn't he?"

"No…" My voice faltered as my heartbeat thumped so rapidly against my chest. If I didn't get out of his vice-grip soon, I would just burst.

_Arthur…What should I do?_

The blood finally started to circulate through my hand as I felt myself pulled out of Toris's grip and someone put himself between me and the volleyball team's vice-captain.

"Ah!" My eyes widened as I recognized the man's back; he came so quickly…was he also the one who threw the chestnuts? Then…he had been listening and watching our whole conversation?

"Just as I thought—you were here!" Now it was Toris trying to get out of a tight grip on his wrist, only this time Arthur was the one holding him in place.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Lorinaitis."

Toris struggled against Arthur's death-grip as he tried to put up a strong front to Arthur's likely piercing gaze. "You're playing with a student's emotions an now you're trying to play the knight in shining armor?"

"Sorry, but I never said anything remotely like that."

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about! Stop messing around with Jones!"

Wait! Just hold on a moment!—is what I wanted to yell out to get those two to stop, but the panic metre was already threatening to overflow and it left me tongue-tied. It didn't help that Arthur's response nearly caused me to have a heart-attack right on the spot.

"Why are you so angry? If you like him, then go ahead and try to take him from me. A student is better than a teacher right?"  
My head spun with Arthur's sudden challenge to Toris. I wasn't some toy that they could fight over! The mix of all the culminating events finally blew the cap off my already ill-contained panic metre. Like a volcano's eruption I just let out a solid yell, there was no way I could create any coherent words, much less sentences at that point. I covered my ears and let my fingers get tangled through my hair. I didn't want to hear them argue over me anymore. I needed to just get away. Get away far enough so I could cool down.  
With that my feet started to obey my mind's only orders and carried me away from the volleyball court at full speed.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Toris Lorinaitis~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

Both Mr. Kikland and I had jumped when Jones almost literally exploded. It seemed that he just couldn't take it anymore. Of course, this could have meant that I was right in my assumption that they were together.

With a wide eyed and concerned expression that I had never seen on Kirkland's face, my teacher turned towards Jones and called out, "Wait…Alfred!"

That…was the first time I had heard him call out a student by his first name. Maybe…this relationship…

"You're not going anywhere" Before he could take a single step to follow Jones I looped one arm around his right upper arm and grabbed the back of his light jacket to keep him from going any further. In that instant, I forgot the vital fact that he was my teacher, but right then, he was nothing more than my rival.

Just when I thought I had stopped him in his tracks I felt a sudden chill down my spine as I heard the fabric of the jacket rip as I held onto it and he roughly pulled away from my grip. Tossing the remains of his jacket to the ground, he sent one terrifying glare my way just before he ran off. His voice had lowered to a dangerous pitch.

"_Do not get in my way_."

My hands would have been trembling if I still hadn't kept a tight grip on the ripped bit of the jacket and curled up my other hand into a fist.

Given Kirkland's reaction to Jones's sudden panic attack…maybe I was wrong about this relationship. Maybe it wasn't as trivial as I initially thought.

They couldn't possibly be…serious about each other?

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Alfred F. Jones~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_What do I do now?_

Toris finally knew. Even though he didn't know about the marriage, he still knew enough to scare me. He saw through us so easily…

And what in the world did "take him away from me" supposed to mean? Why was Arthur just making it worse? How could he just go and say something like _that?_

All it took now was Toris going to the school board or the principle and telling him about this relationship and everything would fall apart from there—just like it did when mom and dad died.

Arthur could lose his job! The job that he had worked so hard to earn…

Matt and I would be forced away from him and have to start all over in some uncaring relative's home…

The worst case scenarios really were not helping my already agitated mental concition, but I couldn't stop thinking about all of these. _This_ was why I didn't want to get attached to Arthur! The thought of being separated from him sent me into this type of panic…It was too much.

As much as my legs began to burn, I continued to run down some path until I reach a few stairs. I bounded up, two steps at a time. My breath had started to come out in gasps but I refused to slow down. The pain, as much as I didn't want to admit it, was a welcome distraction for my rampant worry and the farther I got from the volleyball training camp, the more at peace I hoped to be. I finally got to the top of the steps and found that it led to a wide bridge that went over the crystal clear water.

"Alfred!"

I ignored the voice that sounded way too close for my comfort. Finally running out of energy I slowed down without even realizing it. There was no way I could look at him now; just how was I supposed to react to what he did back there?

Mid-step, I felt on arm loop around my torso and one hand grab my left wrist. Arthur's tired voice cried out right by my ear.

"Alfred! I'm sorry!" He pulled me close so I couldn't run away anymore. My chest heaved again his arms as he adjusted his position till my arms were pinned down and I could feel him trying to catch his breath on my neck as I tried to do the same. I leaned my head back, tipping it up towards the sky; I gave up, there was no way I could get out of his grasp.

"I'm sorry…" I repeated the apology over and over. "I'm sorry…we've been found out."  
At this he finally let me go only to turn me around and quickly pull me into a tight hug.

"Shh…Relax." Just _how _ was I supposed to relax Arthur?

My knees bent as I leaned on him a bit more and let myself bury my face into his shoulder. "Toris…he…"

"It doesn't matter." Arthur's arm tightened around my back as his other hand weaved through the hair on the back of my head. "No matter what happens, I will never leave you and I definitely won't let _anyone_ take you away."

**~.::*::.~**

_In the road ahead…surely there would be greater trials waiting for us._

_But for now, _

_His voice,_

_His warmth,_

_His confident reassurance…_

_I suppose that was enough._

**~.::*::.~**

From how close we were in our embrace, I managed to feel Arthur's heartbeat and to my surprise, it was faster than my own. We had stopped running for a while now…so it couldn't have been because of his exertion that his heart was beating this fast.

"Have you calmed down now?" He asked as he pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Now…I guess."

"Good." Without a pause he then walked me to the railing of the bridge. Unexpectedly his to arms circled around my lower torso to pick me up and set me up on the wide railing. Keeping one hand protectively circled around my lower back, he pulled back just enough to smile up at me.

Putting one hand over my heart he said, "Then can I assume that this belongs only to me?"

I shouldn't have nodded.

His mischievous smile gave me all of two seconds of warning before his kiss landed on the tender spot of my neck just at the base of my jaw and under my ear. I had to try to keep myself from laughing as his tickling trail of kisses led to my collarbone. From there his other hand tugged slightly at my T-shirt's collar to pull it down so he could kiss the skin directly over my heart.

**~.::*::.~**

_Even though we would probably have more trials ahead…I still hoped that I could be right by his side…_

_I also hoped that one day, I would be the one to protect _him.

**~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~Unknown~.::*::.~**

**~.::*::.~**

_Ding Dong._

Disappointed at my third ring I let my finger drop from the doorbell of the Kirkland residence. An old man, presumably one that lived nearby looked over at me as he came up the stairs.

"I believe Mr. Kirland is out right now. If you tell me who you are I can help you leave a message."

Turning to face the man I adjusted my shoulder bag to a more comfortable position.

"I'm a relative of Kirkland's"

* * *

A/N: dun, dun, dun~~ XD I wonder if someone can guess which Hetalia character I used for Arthur's relative~~^_~ If someone is able to guess it in a review or PM then I'll reward them with a fully coloured illustration of their favourite part of the fanfic~  
EDIT: **Someone has already guessed the character^^ Congrats to that person and Thank You to everyone who tried :D The picture will be finished when the next chapter is updated~**


	12. 11: A Play's Preparation

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Author's Note: **I love you all. There's really not much I can say at this point except: Thank You. To everyone that reviewed. To everyone that + favourited/Alerted this fic. Yes, even to everyone who has been lurking/stalking this story from the shadows this whole time and only giving me page views; I thank you too~.

I Thank You All. Because without your support, **_this fic_** _**would have been abandoned a long time ago.**_

On a side note, Shimotaku-chan answered the question from the previous chapter correctly~ However, the mystery character has yet to be revealed in this chapter, due to my decision to make smaller chapters~. The prize I drew for Shimotaku-chan, however, is NOT yet complete. As soon as I find the time to finish colouring it I will put an edit at the start of this chapter or in the note of the following chapter.  
On a second note, this chapter will have similar edits to the ones that I have started on the very early chapters, so please forgive any minor inconsistencies.

**Warnings:** Light swearing, light Yaoi, kindly consider this as a first draft…**.it likely has a lot of typos/grammar errors.** OTL Forgive me, I'm feeling _quite_ a bit under the weather.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia or Kisu Yori mo Hayaku

* * *

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter 11: A Play's Preparation~::*::~::*::~**

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Alfred F. Jones**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

"…Of course we met before…erm…Don't you remember?…eh…Once upon at time!" I tightly held the script, which was rolled up in one hand, and stood across from Arthur, trying to recite the lines. It didn't help that I got tongue-tied enough when Arthur had that smirk on his face.

"Cut!" Feliks came in. "Seriously, Alfred, you're, like, supposed to sound like a prince so don't sound, like, so hesitant! And it's not, like, "Once upon a time," it's "Once upon a _dream_"!"

"Eh…really?" I flipped though my script and found that line. "Oh, ha ha, it is."

Now at the beginning of the second semester, the entire school had started to prepare for its annual cultural festival. Some classes had gotten to plan talent shows or booths, our class had chosen to put on a play. But of course we weren't going to put on a _normal_ play, no. Thanks to Arthur and many of the other student's suggestions our, play was to be an open-ended, audience participation, _fractured_ fairy tale. Who in their right mind would want to fracture a perfectly good fairy tale, especially one like Sleeping Beauty!

In any case, we had begun to practice the play in class by setting aside all the desks to the perimeter of the room. All of the parts for the play were decided (supposedly) fairly by a draw.

"It's, like, a miracle you were given the part of the prince." Feliks grumbled; he had drawn the part of one of the three good fairies, along with Raivis and Eduard.

Arthur, from where he was standing across from me, laughed a bit. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most forgetful of them all."

"You be quiet, teach! That's not even of the right story. Why are you participating anyway!" Due to a popular vote, the class had also gotten Arthur to act; it was just my luck that he drew the paper slip for the character of the princess. Now, normally I would have made fun of him for this, if it wasn't for the fact that he was a really good actor, even though he was playing the part of a girl.

Feliks decided to break up an impending squabble between me and Arthur. "Well, like, anyway, let's try to do a different scene." He flipped through the book. "Oh, let's, like, try the sword fight between the evil witch and the prince! Toris, get over here!"

As our fractured fairytale was being written up by the class, we had decided to stage a swordfight between myself and Toris, who happened to be cast as the evil fairy. I pretended to look over the script as Toris came over. In all honesty, I was really ready to perform on stage, but I was nervous due to various things. One, _Arthur_ of all people was the princess and two, _Toris_ was supposed to be the one person keeping me from waking the princes with true love's first kiss. The scary way in which the play paralleled my actual life almost made me want to not participate at all, but I was the prince, in other words, the hero! Given that, there was no way I could back out.

Toris happened to be frowning as he came over; one of the other students had put a sign around his neck with a paper that declared: _I am a dragon_. It even had a little dragon head drawn by it. Feliks grinned as he handed a cardboard sword to Toris and then to me, announcing that they ought to figure out how to choreograph the fight.

"Um, well…we ought to, uh, figure this out huh?" I set aside the script and held up the sword.

"Er…sure…um…" Toris didn't look at me straight in the eyes as he brought up the sword as well. Things had gotten a bit…tense ever since Toris confessed to me. I didn't know how to react to him, and he didn't seem to know how to talk to me. To make things worse, he had also realized, partially, that there was some sort of relationship between me and Arthur.

Hesitantly at first, we started to figure out the sword fighting scene, before Feliks took over and started to direct our every movement.

_I'm sorry Toris…_ I thought as Feliks led my arm in a downward swing, _but…Arthur and I are actually married… Yet, there's absolutely no way I can say that!  
_Even though Arthur and I hadn't admitted anything yet, being me, I couldn't help but be anxious about it.

~.::*::.~

"You really ought to try to relax." Arthur smiled from where he sat next to me. Under two desk lights we had stayed up that evening to practice lines and finish up schoolwork. "Mr. Lorinaitis doesn't have any definite proof, so as long as we keep quiet, It'll be ok!"

I set down my pencil and sat back, looking at him with a frown. "Do you really think it's that easy?"

"Yes. Now, instead you should be worrying about memorizing your lines."

I crossed my arms across my chest, ignoring his statement. "And besides…I'm also worried about Matt. I can't stay after school for very long because I have to go pick him up and I just can't leave him here alone…"

"Hm, We could get the frog to look after Matthew." Arthur suggested as he sat back.

"We can't just go annoy him all the time!"

Arthur frowned for a minute as he thought, "Well then, how about we ask the principle or Coach Braginski, since he's the head of student guidance, if we can bring Matthew with us after school."

"Eh…we can do that?"

"Well, with the entire school busy preparing for the festival, it shouldn't be too conspicuous right?"

"Mmn…I guess." Sighing I scribbled down the last answer on my homework sheet and put away the papers into my pack, leaving out the script for the play.

"Say, Alfred. Can you dance?" Arthur asked nonchalantly as he flipped through the pamphlet for the play.

"…What kind of dance?" I closed my backpack and came to sit next to him again.

"Waltz, for this part, see?" He held up the script for me to see. I hadn't looked too closely at that part yet, but it was supposedly when the princess met the prince in the forest and they were supposed to dance. Luckily we would have music in the background, since it was candidly decided by the class that I couldn't sing.

I stared at the page for a good long moment. "Can't we just take that part out?"

"What you can't dance? Or don't want to?"

I grimaced and looked away. "Both."

Arthur laughed, then set aside the script and grabbed my hand. "Come with me."

He led me into the living room and had me help him move aside the coffee and dining table so there was a fairly wide open space in the middle of the room.

"Arthur…you're not seriously going to teach me how to dance, are you?"

Arthur, who was busy fiddling with the stereo, didn't answer until he found a CD and put it into the player. "Of course I am. You need to learn how to dance at least once."

"Ehh…and you know how to waltz?"

"I learned…a long time ago, but the waltz is simple enough." Arthur smiled as the CD started to play, but he soon paused it and walked up to where I stood in the middle of our makeshift dance floor.

"Now," Arthur started, "before you actually take any steps you have to have the right 'hold'."

I sighed as he started to instruct me into a proper ballroom starting position. "Ok."

"First keep your weight on your right foot and offer your left hand." I stuck out my left hand. "Not like that! You have to be gentler with your left hand. Make me actually want to hold it." He pushed down my left hand and this time I lifted it up slowly and offered a smile.

"That's better," Arthur said as he placed his right hand into mine and stood slightly offset to his left in front of me. He then told me to place my right hand around him and onto his shoulder blade while he kept his left hand on my upper arm. In proper position my right elbow had to be lifted in order to be on the same level as my shoulder.

"Well, this seems simple enough." Or so I thought until Arthur stepped forward and I found myself pressed flush against him. The only reason our faces were not a few inches apart was because he had leaned back slightly; a grin stretched across his face while warmth flooded mine.

"_This_ is the proper starting position for a waltz." He paused as I shifted uncomfortably before stepping back slightly. "But, given how you may react when we dance in front of the class, I believe this distance ought to do." I nodded, for once, not trusting myself to speak.

Arthur continued, "Alright then. The first thing you need to remember is that you always start on the left foot, since you're the 'leader'."

I grinned at the title. "And that means you're the 'follower' right."

"Yes yes, however, this puts you in charge of the timing, and movement." Arthur smiled as my grin faded, "All I have to do is mirror your movements and enhance it."

I pouted. "Let's just get to the steps already."

Laughing at my impatience he began to guide me though the steps, "You start with stepping forward with your left foot…"

It took some time, and a few moments where I took a wrong step and my foot landed on Arthur's, but somehow, before we went to sleep all Arthur said I needed to learn were the subtle nuances of the dance. Of course, this was said after a good hour or so of practice.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Unknown**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

_This school is way too lax for its own good. _ I thought that as I looked around at the mass of crowds that flooded the school as everyone prepared for an upcoming festival of sorts. It was hard enough going through all of these crowds…just how in the world was I supposed to find that jerk brother of mine?

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Alfred F. Jones**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

Hetalia High's atmosphere was much too…free lately. Intermixed throughout the busy crowd, I saw delivery boys, kids in different uniforms, and…was that our school mascot that walked by? Even if we didn't ask the principle or Coach Braginski, I could have just waltzed in with Matt and no one would question it.

Well, in any case Arthur and I got separated as we started to work with the class. Feliks, Raivis, and Eduard immediately offered to look after Matt, who was more than willing to help out the class with decorations for the set.

~.::*::.~

Some time later…

"Did Feliks already head out to buy some stuff?" I asked one of the other students as Matt finished using all the origami paper for the paper chains.

"Yep."

"Well, we've run out of origami paper, so I'll run after him." Just as I said that I heard a voice behind me.

"I've got to get some stuff too. I'll go." Toris stood behind me with his hand out and a clear blush. "Give me the list."

My grip on the list of supplies we needed to buy tightened as I stared down at him for a moment. "Uhh, no it's alright. I'll go get it." I managed to escape but I couldn't help but feel frustrated.

_Urgh…Why does it have to be so awkward now?_

I ran down the sidewalk to the nearest store as the sky got darker, wondering when I would run into Feliks. Of course I just had to find Feliks in _this_ sort of situation.

"Gyaaa! Like, _Let me go!_"

I nearly had a heart attack as I saw Feliks being dragged buy a large man with a deep voice. The pervert had a face mask along with sunglasses and a cap. _Seriously how much more suspicious do you think you can get? _

"_What do you think you're doing to our good fairy_!" My blood now boiling, I ran forward first, to grab Feliks from the man, and second, to kick the living daylights out of him. I smirked as my foot contacted solidly with the side of the man's head. As he fell over and scrambled to run away, the only reason I didn't run after him and knock him unconscious to turn him over to the authorities was due to Feliks's shaking form holding onto my shirt. The poor guy was near to tears, blubbering out his thanks and how scared he was. I patted him awkwardly.

"Um…there, there Feliks…come on. Let's head back." I calmed him as much as I could before quickly going back to the school.

~.::*::.~

"Wha—Pervert?" Arthur blinked disbelievingly as I explained to him what happened while still patting Feliks, who had yet to let go of my shirt. "Are you two okay?"

I nodded. "Yes, but that guy got away."

Arthur frowned worriedly and started to head out of the class. "I'm going to send out a notice. Since it's rather late in the evening, it's easier to fall prey to people like this. So when you go home be sure to walk with someone. If possible go with someone who lives in the same direction as you." With that he left the room, leaving me with a still trembling Feliks and now a pale Toris, who had walked up to us.

I sighed and looked down at Feliks again, patting his head. "Hey…it's okay now. Don't worry."

Feliks looked up at me with wide eyes and for some reason I noticed a blush. "Alfred…" He abruptly hugged me. "Forget Toris, you're like so much more—" He paused and blinked pulling away and frowning. "What am I, like, even talking about?" He turned around to find Toris and effectively tackled him, almost tossing both of them to the floor.

"Tooooriiiis! It was so scary when that guy, like, grabbed me! Promise you won't, like, _ever_ let that happen again, seriously!" Toris's shocked expression softened to one of concern as he hugged Feliks back, comforting him much better than I ever could.

I smiled a bit as I watched them before thinking about what Arthur had said about walking home with someone for safety. _Hm…who lives in the same direction as me?_

~.::*::.~

_Of course…Toris does._

It couldn't really get any more awkward with the fact that we were walking next to each other; Matt refused to walk between me and Toris, saying that I ought to solve my problems instead of avoiding them. The atmosphere drove me crazy and this worst-case scenario hardly helped.

Finally Toris stopped and looked over at me. "You know…"

I stopped and faced him, causing Matt to halt as well. "umm yeah?"

"My…c-confession from last time…I'm not going to take it back, but I may have been too pushy, and I'm sorry about that, but if it's going to be like this, then it's really going to be unbearable."

_You said it…Same here Toris._

Toris continued, "So…let's just go back to how we were before?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, let's do that." I turned slightly to walk the last bit of the way to the apartments with just Matt. "Oh, and no need to stay with us all the way back to our home. The next time I see that kidnapper, I'll arrest him myself!" I raised one hand to wave him goodbye.

"You may be cast as the prince but don't over-do it!" Toris scolded lightly as he waved back, now smiling a bit, and I had to say, I was smiling too, now that the tension had diminished a bit.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~**Toris Lorinaitis**~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

I watched them leave for a bit before turning around to head home. _Well, this was good, wasn't it? In the end I got to walk with him partially on the way home._

I stopped walking for a minute as I remembered Mr. Kirkland's words. "_A student is better than a teacher, right?"_

_You bet Mr. Kirkland…and as long as I use methods a teacher can't I'll be able to win him over! After all, as a student, I'm closer to Jones than our teacher is. _ Nodding to myself I continued to walk down the sidewalk. _I'm not giving up yet._

_

* * *

_

A/N: OTL yes the play is based off of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. X3 it's one of my favourites~

Just curious, for a future chapter when the cultural festival actually starts, would you like for me to actually write up the play as a chapter, or simply highlight a few of the scenes and keep going on with the storyline?


	13. 12: Protection

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**Author's Note: **Once again, I thank all of you who have stuck with me thus far; if some or even many of you are fellow writers then you understand how I feel when I say that your support makes my day every day I see a review or when I see a + Fav/alert...heck I feel good even if I get page views. I continue to write because you all make me feel like this is a story worth writing...even when I feel like crap [[which I have somewhat felt this entire month]] and feel like everything I write ends up the same way.

In any case, due to the sad fact that when I got a new laptop, it somehow was no longer compatible with the Photoshop I had, Simotaku-chan, who answered my earlier question correctly will have to wait just a tad longer until I get a decent traditionally drawn and coloured picture up on my DeviantArt. |||||OTL

I sincerely apologize for the incredible delay since the last chapter...a lot has happened in this past month.

Warnings: Light Yaoi, [maybe] Light swearing, typos/etc.

Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned Hetalia or Kisu Yori mo Hayaku...but hey, at least I have this fanfic. =u=

* * *

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter 12: Protection ~::*::~::*::~**

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~ **Alfred F. Jones **~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

Arthur was late.

Granted everything going on at school lately took up much of his time, but I couldn't help but wonder how I would tell him that of all the people I lived in the same direction as, the one that lived the same way just had to be _that one_.

Finally I heard the tell-tale click of the front door unlocking and stepped into the hallway just as Arthur came in, closing the door behind him and taking off his shoes. While I went up to him, he set his bag aside so it would lean on the wall and straightened up to give me his usual smile.

"I'm home."

"Mn...Welcome back."

He blinked at my small frown. "Why the long face? Did something happen on the way here?" He suddenly looked worried and I quickly shook my head to allay any fears that I could see building up in his eyes.

"No...I just...Toris was also walking in the same direction as Matt and I." For a moment, just a small moment, I had actually hoped that I would get to see some sort of jealousy in Arthur's eyes, yet none came. His smile didn't even change, and it unnerved me.

Sighing in what I could only call relief—unless he was acting of course— he stepped closer to me and brought up one hand to ruffle my hair; the warmth of his firm hand seemed to transfer slightly to my cheeks, but I waited still for his response.

"That's good. If it's him then he can protect you in my place." With that, he just walked around me as I froze and just blinked at empty air.

This certainly couldn't be what Arthur actually felt, right? It took a few moments, but I managed to snap out of it by shaking my head and turning swiftly to the bathroom door, which I had heard opening and closing somehow in my dazed stupor. It may have been locked...I wasn't sure at the time because I just twisted the handle in my sudden strengthened anger and barged in without a second thought.

Finally barking out what I meant to say before I got thrown off by his comment, I charged straight towards him. "What is that supposed to mean? This is _Toris_ we're talking about!" I grabbed hold of his shoulders roughly.

"Wha-! Alfred!" In his surprise, he had tried to step back, but the momentum brought both of us to the floor; I didn't notice.

"How can you even _think_ that he can replace you?" I stayed on my knees and hovered over him, hands likely holding onto his shoulders too tightly, and voice becoming too loud.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"I could fight that perve—!"

"There was no way we could have gone home together!" Arthur sharply yelled back over me. "And besides—" He paused, and I froze yet again as I felt his hands lightly come up to curl around my middle and his warm hands rest on my lower back, causing me to shiver sharply. My eyes trailed down, wide with shock—missing completely his lazy smirk—as he continued, drawling out his deeper-pitched words "_this_ is a very good position."

Arthur was wearing nothing more than a towel, which he actually seemed to have tossed over that area somehow when I had charged at him. Instantaneously aware of _so much_ skin, I did the only thing that would save what little dignity I had left, if any.

I chucked him into the filled bath, letting the water slosh around and spill out of the tub without a care; Arthur could clean it up. After less than a glance at Arthur's rueful and yet, amused, gaze, I turned on my heel and got out as fast as I could, slamming the door behind me.  
Leaning against that door, I took a deep breath and willed my face to return to its normal hue and for my heart to return to its normal pace; I could still feel Arthur's gaze on my back, as well as a tinge of the warmth of his hands. I shivered again, closing my eyes momentarily and curling my fingers into limp fists.

Shaking my head I stalked back into the study where Matt had already fallen asleep.

~.::*::.~

Finally, after weeks of wonderment and idle search, I had found the bat—the very one that Arthur often used to threaten Francis with at various and odd times—the following morning.

"Like…What is that for?" Feliks stared at the bat with wide eyes, both at the wood and my expression.

"Self-defense, what else. I'd like to see that pervert come after anyone now." I stubbornly let the legal weapon lean on my shoulder as I gripped its handle with a stark grimace. Of course, it still bothered me that I had no clue how Arthur managed to conjure this thing up out of seemingly thin air, but that didn't matter at this point.

Toris had a similar expression as Feliks; he whispered to the latter, "He really wants to beat that guy up."

Damn right! I would use this if I needed to. No random pervert was about to attack me or anyone I knew without getting hurt.  
I could defend myself, so I couldn't understand why Arthur seemed so worried about my safety. Couldn't he see that even though I wasn't as strong as him—I'd never say that out loud—I was definitely strong _enough_…

There was no way that _I_ would need protecting.

No way…right?

~.::*::.~

Thankfully as the preparations for the festival went underway, that pervert hadn't shown up, but I had yet to let down my guard when I went to and from school. Somewhere along the way the bat had disappeared, but that did little to make me want to rely on someone else for protection. During class and the afterschool work, however, I found myself slipping up with my guard often.

One particular evening, the students who were in charge of props and costumes managed to push both Alfred and me into our respective costumes to make sure they fit well. I had to say, I approved my costume, as I looked at myself in the mirror while Arthur was still changing into his costume; it seemed that the princess's dress would take a while to change into.

The girls who had designed the costume practically squealed when I allowed them to take pictures. I adjusted the hat, which had a large bright feather attached to the top, so it would be tilted slightly; all to increase my princely look of course. I even had a cape that reached my ankles. Marvelled as I was with my own costume, it took me a moment to realize that the class had suddenly fallen silent as a young woman, dressed in a deep green, royal dress entered the room.

From the hem of the dress that just barely touched the floor I trailed my eyes up, my cheeks warming to an uncomfortable red by the time I looked at Arthur's face. The girls in charge of design seemed to have gotten his permission to figure out which make-up they were going to use as well. All in all, he made a stunning woman—event the fake breasts looked real—...but something just had to go.

I had begun to step forward towards him with what I hoped was a determined expression. Some of the students stepped aside so I would have a straight path to Arthur, who had steadily turned a healthy red as he kept his eyes downward as he faced his class. To the rest of the class, I happily believed that they were staring in awe at how perfectly we seemed to emulate an actual prince and princess...or at least at how much Arthur pulled off the look; if I had not recognized him, he would have definitely been mistaken for a woman.

Slowly, deliberately I brought my hand up to the hair-band that held together the long wavy wig that matched Arthur's hair color; it didn't fit. The clean, finely combed, and clearly non-bed-head feel did not fit Arthur at all. In one smooth movement I pulled back on the headband and pulled off the wig and stepped back to get a good look at Arthur, whose eyes had snapped up to stare at me with wide eyes.

Despite knowing how red I now was, I managed to say, "He looks better this way…the wig doesn't fit teach at all." Arthur blinked, now bemused and smiling; he looked slightly relieved. I turned away to give the wig to one of the designers; he didn't seem the least bit comfortable in it anyway.

As soon as the rest of the class snapped out of their various dazes, the girls who had the cameras immediately dragged me to stand by Arthur for pictures of the prince and princess; my hopes that Arthur would reject their requests for photos were crushed when he simply smiled and nodded at the now fangirl-ing—or in Feliks' case: fanboy-ing—crowd.

I stood by him, trying my best to smile and look good for the picture. In between the clicks I muttered to him. "Why'd you have to go and let them take pictures?"

"Why are you embarrassed? This is how we'll dress during the play after all."

I pouted and soon grimaced when the girls began to ask us to pose in the waltz positions. I didn't bother to stop my glare as Arthur happily complied, forcing me into the waltz starting position that he had made sure I learned by heart. At this point I only sighed, but complied as well when the girls eagerly requested that we dance a bit; just to make sure—of course—that Arthur wouldn't trip over this particular dress, which was for the second half of the play.

After an eternity of flashes, Arthur managed to excuse himself to change out of the dress, saying he had to look to some other thing concerning the festival. Unfortunately he left me behind to be dragged around by the others who wanted more pictures with me. Laughing a bit, Feliks followed after Arthur to change out of his costume as well, bidding me good luck.

I sighed with relief when Toris came into the room in his dragon costume and the girls began to flock around _him_. Taking this chance to escape I darted out of the room and made my way to classroom 2-B, which had become our changing room since that class was working outside on their attraction. Adjusting my hat, I finally came to the door; surprisingly it was open and I heard an unfamiliar male's voice.

"What? Why're you cross-dressing?"

That comment was soon followed by a loud—and admittedly girlish—scream; it couldn't be anyone other than Feliks.

I burst straight into the room when I heard Feliks scream; what if that guy was the pervert who had tried to kidnap Feliks before? The guy had his back to me so he didn't see me coming when I managed to get a well aimed kick to his upper back, pushing him towards the open window. As always, I didn't control how much power went into my kick so that ultimately threw him _out_ of the window, much to his surprise. My heart stopped for a moment, since this was the second floor, but I soon heard the snapping of branches and a rustle in the tree by the window, so I assumed he had landed in the tree.

Instead of worrying about the one I had instinctively attacked, I checked on Feliks, who was hiding behind the changing curtain; thankfully he seemed alright. All but a moment later a group from the class next door ran to the room Feliks and I were in to see what had happened.

Feliks answered the class before I did. "Everyone, like, Alfred kicked that guy out the window! Someone go get him!" The large group of students rushed away, hurriedly telling each other that they had to find Mr. Kirkland or one of the other administrators. I stayed behind because Feliks had grabbed onto my sleeve; in my trying to calm him down, I realized that the guy I had kicked was much smaller than the man who had assaulted Feliks before.

I assured Feliks that I would stand guard as he finished changing. While I waited I looked out the window momentarily to see if anyone had caught the one I had thrown out when suddenly I heard Feliks' panicked voice. "Alfred!"

Turning around immediately, I saw another man enter the room; he wore a cap, sunglasses, and a cold mask to cover the rest of his face. He pocketed his digital camera as he noticed my being there and standing in front of Feliks.

"You!" We pointed at each other and yelled at the same time.

The man walked forward. "You're that idiot kid who ruined everything!" He had sped up and was coming head on to me.

I smirked and side stepped, aiming to grab his arm and twist it behind his back, but at the last minute he opened his fist and grabbed my wrist. Before I knew it, my arm was painfully twisted behind me. Gritting my teeth so I wouldn't cry out, I struggled fruitlessly, glancing urgently at Feliks and yelling at him to run away.

Feliks, who had been staring at my dilemma with wide, frozen eyes, suddenly snapped out of it and ran to the door while I tried to keep the man busy. At the very moment Feliks got to the door, he ran into Toris, who, for some reason or another, had come back. The man turned me around so I was facing Toris and Feliks, and pulled my arm further behind my back; this time I couldn't stop a pained yell from escaping. Toris was about to run forward to help me, but Feliks stopped him thankfully, since I suddenly felt something cold and hard against my throat.

I froze immediately, as most would when in a situation like this. The sharp steel pushed against my skin when I gulped. My legs' strength were beginning to wane as they started to shake when I felt something wet and warm trail down from where the cold steel was pressed against the top of my throat, just beneath my jaw.

"Don't move. Don't any of you move." The man ordered the three of us.

_Great…now what do I do…? _

My frantic mind also froze when I heard loud rustle of the trees outside the window and a sudden breeze blew through the window. I shouldn't have been surprised to hear that voice, since I should have expected it, but I was anyway.

"Let go of him, bloody trash!"

Startled, I felt the metal pull away from it's threatening position at my neck, and the man let go of my arm. Instantly I scrambled away from the man, my shaking legs failing me and I managed to turn around and sit up at least slightly to see the man being pinned down by Arthur, the gleaming switch-blade was stained with blood. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Arthur's cheek bleeding, and I put a hand over the area where I was also cut; it was a small, very shallow cut thankfully, but the blood I saw on my hand from it at that time caused my blood pressure to escalate. Pressing on the cut I focused on the man struggling against Arthur.

Arthur, for some reason, was smirking scarily as he kept a vice grip on the man's wrist, squeezing till he let go of the switchblade and I heard it clatter to the floor.

"W-who are you!"

"Me?" Arthur grinned. "I'm just the homeroom teacher" He brought up one fist and swung it down to knock out the man. Just as he stood up to look over at me, Feliks—who was now fretting over my cut—and Toris—who just stared at Arthur with shock—Coach Braginski along with some of the other students came to the room.

After a brief exchange of words, Arthur got Ivan to carry off the man to the police that were called. He then turned to me and helped me up.

"Mr. Jones…let me see that." His worried eyes probed my hand that covered the cut on my neck.

"It's noth—"

"Let me see it." His voice had suddenly turned sharp and I pulled my hand away, it was now streaked with much blood; I didn't look at it, instead I felt my stomach turn at the suddenly shocked expression Arthur held.

Without another word he put an arm around my back and brought both of us to the infirmary; Feliks and Toris followed behind and waited outside of it while the nurse helped patch us up.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~ **Toris Lorinaitis **~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

Feliks and I were asked to wait outside the infirmary. I stood by the partially opened door as Jones' cut was cleaned up and bandaged. Unfortunately he didn't leave once the nurse was done, and instead he stayed while Mr. Kirkland got bandaged.

The nurse chided him. "Really…you've always worked late every night for this festival and now this? What next, Mr. Kirkland?"

I could hear the smile in my teacher's voice. "But in the end we caught that man right?"

"Ahh, yes…but you shouldn't overwork yourself."

Arthur laughed softly. "If it's for my dear students, it's alright if I have to work a little hard."

I must have become visibly frustrated as I turned away from the infirmary to walk down the hall, because just as we turned the corner, Feliks pulled on my sleeve, causing me to stop and turn to look at him. Feliks was looking down, as if trying to figure out how to word what he wanted to say.

He then looked up, something determined in his eyes. "…I think…you should give up on Alfred." I blinked with surprise; why was Feliks suddenly saying something like this? He hadn't said anything before…

"Why?" The question escaped my lips before I could stop myself, and I regretted answering like that dearly. Feliks suddenly looked hurt, his eyes wide, beseeching for something I had yet to realize.

With a now conflicted expression Feliks' grip on my sleeve tightened. Before I could realize what was happening, Feliks stepped forward and lightly put his lips on mine, pulling away before I could respond in anyway. Despite his blush, his voice still sounded angry. "You ought to open your eyes a bit and look around!" his eyes glistened slightly. "I-Idiot Toris!"

Letting go of my sleeve and turning on his heel, I was left to stare in awe at his wake and step back to lean on the wall, my fingers lightly touching my mouth. My knees bent and I found myself sitting on the floor now, leaning my head on my knees that I had wrapped up with my arms.

How could I have not noticed _this?_

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~ **Alfred F. Jones **~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

I waited patiently, sitting on one of the clinic beds, surrounded by the white curtains on two sides and two walls behind me and to my left, while the nurse finished helping Arthur. After a moment, she excused herself, saying she would be leaving for that evening.

I sat up when I heard the clinic door close and Arthur stand up. Seeing his shadow on the curtains before he pushed them aside slightly to come sit on the side of my bed, I took a deep breath.

"...I'm sorry...for being reckless again..."

Arthur shook his head. "No, it's alright...You didn't know he was suddenly going to enter." He sat closer and put a hand on my left cheek. My eyes widened; why was his hand shaking? Arthur's hands never shook like this; they were always firm and warm...and assured...

He continued softly. "...I will admit: you are strong, very strong, but so very reckless. And even though I _know_ you can protect yourself, please don't forget. Don't forget that I'm here, and that I'd do anything for you, anything at all." Arthur paused as he came forward to put his forehead against mine. " 'Cause you're not alone anymore, git."

I felt myself smile slightly as I nodded. "Got it..." I let myself lean forward slightly and move so my head was on his shoulder, my eyes closed against the base of his neck. Without hesitation, Arthur pulled me into a tight hug.

"Good." After just a moment, I felt him softly kiss the bandage that covered the cut I got. "I never want you to go through something like this again."

"I'll be more careful." I pulled back and tried to smile and tried not to shake as Arthur shook, as I came forward and lightly kissed the bandage that covered his cut as well. It felt good to see him blush for once.

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~ **Arthur Kirkland **~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

I left the clinic after Alfred did, so he could take Matthew home first while I went to find Braginski to make sure that man was arrested.

Gwin fluttered around my cut cheek worriedly. "ohh, I do hope it heals quickly."

I smiled as I stepped out of the infirmary. "I'll be fine."

Just as I started down the hall, I came to face a teenager, no older than Alfred, who was coming towards me.

"Geez, I finally found you…big brother." The boy's haughty voice caused my eyes to widen. Why was he here now?

"Peter?" I suddenly didn't feel very good, and neither did Gwin as I could sense her stiffen when she saw my younger sibling.

**Omake**

~.::*::.~Arthur ~.::*:.~

After a moment I noticed Peter had a number of cuts and twigs all over him; his cloths were also a mess. "Why are you covered in leaves?"

Peter frowned irritated. "I was kicked by some jerk."

I could feel myself make an incredulous face. "What?"

* * *

A/N: o3o Right, so as i had mentioned a _long_ time ago-I have fiddled with the ages of the characters so Peter is Alfred age; think of that one comic Himaruya did with England's nightmare about a grown up Sealand.

QUESTION~ Would you like to read the entire play in the following chapters, or is it alright if I highlight a few of the important scenes and continue with the storyline? It's just a matter if you want to see Hetalia!Sleeping Beauty fully or not~

Thank you for being patient with me~ Reviews = Love OUO/


	14. 13: Fractured Fairy Tale: Part I

**A/N: **QuQ;; Right...so...erm...Thank you to anyone who has stuck with me so far...despite the unannounced hiatus. On thing happened after another and well...I didn't fall into the mood of wanting to write. However!-I do not plan to give up on this fanfiction and will continue writing for anyone still interested in it...

I apologize for the unexplained disappearance on my part, and I do hope all the reviewers will keep reading this.

Therefore I give you Chapter 13, Part one of the Fractured Fairy Tale.

Disclaimer: Hetalia and its characters, nor the inspiration for this plot, nor Disney's Sleeping Beauty belongs to me.

Warning: light yaoi...though not much in this chapter.

* * *

**Kisu Yori mo Hayaku**

**~::*::~::*::~Chapter 13: Fractured Fairy Tale~::*::~::*::~**

~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~ **Alfred F. Jones **~.::*::.~

~.::*::.~

Finally, the long-awaited 13th Annual Cultural Festival had begun. I paced back and forth in the near empty dressing room as I glanced up at the wall-clock practically to count the seconds till someone would come and let me know that we were ready to start the play. Steppinging over to the open window, I looked out into the courtyard where a large crowd was beginning to gather around a temporary stage built in the middle; the student body had even made a covered backstage area where the actors of the various plays would be able to go through as scenes changed and whatnot. As I watched a group of the underclassmen finish up their play, the nervous knot in my stomach tightened as I knew that our class—which had been advertised around to be the self-proclaimed best in show—was up next. I leaned up on the window sill, propping up my head with one hand.

"What are you doing here, sighing so heavily like that?" A hand on my shoulder caused me to jump and almost drop the hat I was holding out the window. Spinning around and clutching the hat like a shield I felt my eyes widen at the questioner.

"Art—Teach! What're you doing? Sneaking up on me like that." I frowned in hope to quell my blush when I saw Arthur smile, looking much too much like the princess part he was to play, although at the moment he was in the peasant dress that he would appear in when the play started. I looked over his shoulder to see if anyone else was around, but it seemed that in my nervous daze, everyone else had left and even the class door was closed.

"There's no one else here but us, if that's what you're worrying about." Arthur's smile teetered on the edge of a smirk as my flush grew worse. "Besides, everyone else is waiting for you downstairs. It's almost our turn to get ready back stage, and everyone needs the lead actors after all." He paused for a moment, scrutinizing what I knew had become a slightly nervous expression. "...You'll do fine Alfred. Trust yourself to know the lines." He brought a hand up to lightly fix my bangs, a very warm tone had taken over his voice.

Nodding a bit, I put on the princely hat, smiling now. "Yep, well now, we can't keep the crowd waiting for their prince right?" Hesitating for a moment I held out my arm for Arthur to take, looking forward as I said to him, "O-Outside this room...we ought to play our part so we make a good entrance right?" I gulped slightly as he took my arm lightly.

"Yes you are right." He laughed. "Hm, well then, let the show begin~"

~.::*::.~

From the side stage that I was meant to enter from, I watched as group of underclassman begin our play; they had agreed to enact the beginning narration for us. At the side of the stage, in front of the strangely attentive audience, a rather small student began,

"Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived a king and queen who wished for a child." On the stage entered two of my classmates dressed as the King Stefan and the Queen, who was holding a bundle that had a baby-sized doll.  
"After many years of longing, the Queen finally bore a daughter and they named her Aurora. A festival was announced for the birth of the princess and a life-long friend of the royal family and King of a neighbouring kingdom, King Hubert and Prince Phillip came to celebrate."  
As the narration went on, Matt, who volunteered to play my character's younger counterpart, walked onto the stage with our actor for the second king, holding a gift in his hands. Although he didn't have any lines he looked over at me and I grinned while giving him a thumbs up.  
Encouraged he looked upon the child as the Narrator concluded, "These two Kings wished that one day their Kingdoms would unite and so they announced that on this day the young Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora would be betrothed. So with the gift he brought, the young Prince looked, unknowingly, upon his future bride."

These actors went to the left side of the stage as the narrator shifted to become the announcer character. "The most honoured excellencies, we welcome the three good fairies." As he announced the names, Feliks, followed by Eduard and Raivis, both of whom had forced smiles under their wigs, entered as their characters respectively. "Mistress Flora, Mistress Fauna and Mistress Merryweather." I covered my mouth to stifle my laugh, even though I had seen their costumes before, I had yet to get over how well Feliks played the part.

Feliks went forward first, waving the wand gracefully, completely absorbed by his part. "Each of us may bless the child with a single gift. No more, no less." He waved the wand over the toy doll; I was rather impressed by his ability to keep his usual style of speech at bay. "Little princess, my gift shall be the gift of beauty." Sparkles and sequins fell from above their group thanks to a person backstage who had climbed up on a ladder to provide the effects. Someone had also clicked play on the laptop, and the 'magical sparkling music'-as Feliks called it-came through the speakers on either side of the stage.

Eduard, looking altogether uncomfortable in the green dress came forward as Feliks stepped away. "Tiny Princess, my gift shall be the gift of song." He waved his wand and tried not to grimace as the sparkles fell upon his head.

Trembling as he came forward, Raivis looked up at the person who was throwing the sequins and a giggle went through the crowd (of course that didn't help his stutter at all.). "S-Sweet P-princess...M-My gift shall be—" He jumped all too convincingly and latched onto Eduard's arm as thunder and lighting sounded throught he speakers as well as the sound of doors opening and Toris came onto the stage from the right. The makeup group had done well on Toris' character design and surprisingly he was a very good actor as he marched a few steps inside, just shy of center stage, the staff he held hitting the stage sharply at the properly timed moments with the speakers that let out the sharp sounds of his dramatic walking and the staff's hitting the floor.

"It's Maleficent!" Feliks looked surprised and angry, though I didn't know why the anger looks more real than acting; briefly I wondered if something had happened between the two since Feliks had since been hanging with me instead of Toris for the rest of the play preparation.

Raivis hid behind Eduard. "W-W-What does s-she want?" Quickly Eduard shushed him as they waited for Toris who glowered as his role demanded.

"Such a glittering assemblage. Royalty, Nobility, and the _Three Good Fairies_." He had the perfect scathing tone as he went on. "I was distressed about not receiving an invitation, but no matter, I shall also bestow a gift upon the child." Taken aback the three fairies went to become something of a living wall between the evil witch and the royalty. Slamming down his staff once more, Toris turned to face the silent audience and spoke in a commanding tone. "Listen well. _All_ of you! While the princess surely will grow in grace and beauty, before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel...and die." With a devious cackle that made the hairs on the back of _my_ much less the entire cast and audiance's heads, the speakers sent out a thundering noise as he spun and left the scene.

Turning back towards the royal family, Eduard stepped forward as he put an arm around Raivis's shoulders to bring him to the toy baby. "Do not fear your majesty. Merryweather has yet to give her gift."

The actress for the queen looked grief-stricken. "Can she undo this curse?"

Raivis shook his head. "Oh no...T-that fairy's powers are too great...b-but I can certainly put a crack in the curse." With the nods of the other fairies and the royalty he waved his wand over as the previous two had done. "S-Sweet princess, if though this w-wicked witch's curse a spindle should your finger prick, I offer my gift as a ray of hope. This fateful prophesy in sleep not death shall you keep and from this slumber you shall wake when true love's kiss the spell shall break."

The class drew the curtains and the scene quickly shifted as the narrator went to stand in front of the curtains to make the transition smoother. "The King, still fearful of the curse, had every spindle in the kingdom burned to ashes and in the days that followed the three good fairies came together to figure out what they ought to do to keep the princess safe from Maleficent's curse. They decided that they would disguise themselves as peasants and raise the child in an abandoned woodcutter's cottage. As the years passed and the sixteenth birthday drew near the kingdom became more festive since they knew that a long as Maleficent's domain—the forbidden mountains—thundered with frustration, the evil prophecy hadn't been fulfilled yet." The narrator continued his speech as Arthur got ready backstage for his entrance, which would begin with Briar Rose, now renamed, going through the forest.

I stood by Arthur and lightly patted his shoulder and smiled in encouragement before he lightly adjusted the skirt of his dress and skipped onto the stage, making a few twirls here and there, seemingly unfazed by the response of the audience, which ranged from utter amazement to whispers of how...utterly womanly he managed to look. I found I couldn't take my eyes off of his acting and looked forward to being able to come onto the stage for the upcoming scene.

Arthur had practiced non-stop at home in an attempt to soften his voice; it had somehow managed to get to a suitable pitch that it could be taken for a woman's voice. "Hmmm" He began as he waved the berry basket he had brought onto stage with him, "I am sure those three at home are surely up to something. Acting all suspicious and sending me out to collect berries." The speakers had begun to channel forest sounds fully including chirping birds and such. Two students all dressed in black and holding up props that had the owl and some birds on it began to act with the sound system and Arthur in a well-timed sequence. It was almost time for me to take the stage. I took a few strides up the steps and waited as I watched. Arthur had begun to hum along with the birds and such before coming to a decorated bench under a tree we had made for the play. "You know, those three still treat me like a child..."

"Who." The student playing the owl spoke up and a giggle went through the crowd.

"Why, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather too. They don't want me to meet anyone!" he leaned forward as if to tell a secret to the owl and birds. "But you know something? I've fool them~ I have met someone!"

"Who? Who? Who?" The owl seemed to get more excited and from where I stood, even I felt myself lean in as if eager to find out.

"Oh, just a Prince." He stood up and held out her hand to show the animals his height. "He's tall, and handsome and...and so romantic." He stepped forward and twirled around as I suppressed a smile. We had acted out this scene a number of times at home and it took me a while before I could stop laughing at it. He then begant to step lightly around the stage. "Oh we walked together and talked together..." He turned and came down to sit by the tree again. "...and just before we say good bye...he takes me in his arms, and then...I wake up." Even I could feel my shoulders fall at the disappointed tone in Arthur's voice in those last three words. "Yes, it's only in my dreams. But they say if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true! And I've seen him so many times!"

The light's dimmed on that side of the stage and lit up on the side where I finally entered after fixing my hat. I looked out at the crowd but pretended not to see them, visualizing a forest in my mind like Arthur had taught me. "That singing...where did it come from." I walked in a circle around my half of the stage. "I could have swore I heard it...such a beautiful voice..." I took off my cape and hung it on a tree branch, afterwards I put the hat on there as well. Then coming down to the front of the stage I acted as though I was looking around for the voice. "Too beautiful to be real. Maybe it was a wood sprite..something mysterious like that."

Now it was time to break the fourth wall; I looked down at the younger kids sitting at the front of the audience with a grin. Meanwhile, in the background the two actors playing the owl and birds began to steal my hat and cape. "How about you all? Have you seen that wood sprite?" I blinked and acted confused as the kids excitedly began pointing at the owl and birds that had dressed up in my clothes. "Eh? What's that? My cap...and my cape? What do you mean?" I then turned around and looked at the owl and birds running away. "Hey there! Stop!" I ran a few steps to that tree and the lights changed once more, light once more flooded Arthur's side of the stage. I peeked from the side of the tree, watching in on the animal's antics.

As the owl, all geared up in the cape and my cap approached "Briar Rose", he looked up from where he was petting a stuffed rabbit. "Why, it's my dream prince!" He stood and mock curtsied. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers..." he approached the owl and leaned in as the owl leaned away. "..but we've met before!" Another giggle went through the younger crowd, but this time I didn't; he looked absolutely...radient in this moment as the music began to filter through the speakers and he began to lip-synch to the track. "_I know you. I've walked with you once upon a dream..."_

As the song began and he began to twirl around with the owl, my half of the stage dimly began to light up and I circled around the back of the tree as he came around the front, continuing to watch him as I hid on the other side. When they passed by again, the owl behind Arthur, I grabbed the owl from the collar and replaced him, lightly taking Arthur's hands as the song continued.  
"_But if I know you, I'll know what you'll do. _"

I then joined her, singing along with the track. It's not like the audience could hear me over the music anyway. "_You'll love me at once. __The way you did—"_

Arthur seemed to stop abruptly as I began to "sing" along with him; it was easy to imagine his shocked expression that he was likely showing the audience as I continued. "_Once upon a dream."_

"Oh?" Arthur turned around quickly and took a look at me. I blinked in surprise; the look of shock on his face seemed so real...it took me a moment to realize that he was very much in character and if I wanted to be in character as well, I'd have to keep up. "Oh!" He turned and tried to run to the exit off stage but I held fast to one hand.

"I'm awfully sorry." Smiling cordially I stepped forward as he stepped away, looking wary. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Oh...it wasn't that..." He slipped his hand away from mine and tried turning to leave again, but I took hold of the other hand and he turned to face me again, this time with a shy expression. "It's just that you're a...a..."

As he stuttered I took another step forward. "A stranger?"

"Mmm-hmm" He nodded and pulled away again.

I spoke up again to make him stop. "But don't you remember? We've met before!"

I saw him stiffen before turning around again. "We...we have?"

"Of course. You said so yourself. Once upon a dream!" I spread my arms and walked towards here, the music track kicking up again. "_I know you. I've walked with you once upon a dream."_ Lightly I took one hand and wrapped my hand around his back, just under the shoulder blade as he taught me. "_I know you. The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam." _I almost forgot what to do next as our gaze locked upon one another's. Frozen in that one moment, I couldn't help but feel the warm tickling under my skin as I looked at Arthur's shy and almost bashful expression...the exact expression the princess would have. Sensing my sudden stiffness, Arthur blinked.

Then, quickly and out of character, I saw Arthur give me a proud smile, and I couldn't help but grin back as I stepped back and into the waltz that we had practiced umpteenth times. The music's lyrics faded in my mind as I kept in beat with it without thinking. The stage...the audience...all that also faded from my attention as I found I couldn't keep my eyes from Arthur. Granted I wasn't supposed to do that as this was a waltz, but the scene seemed to call for it, and a hush fell upon the crowd as well as my classmates. They seemed as mesmerized as I, and the only one who didn't seem that way was Arthur—and yet, from the start, he was the one most into the play and his character.

When the song ended I didn't know, but suddenly I was in place-at the front and center of the stage-lightly keeping both arms around Arthur and looking down at him, not as myself, but as the Prince, looking upon a beautiful young woman I had chanced upon. Inadvertently I had brought myself dangerously close to him, the tips of our noses so very close-even the audience was holding its breath, caught completely in the moment-but now wasn't the time for a kiss, and the scripted words came out without my conscious thinking. "Who are you...What's your name?"

Arthur blinked at the questions, snapping out of the daze he had fallen into during the dance. "Hmm? Oh, my name? Why it's..." As if that broke the spell of the moment, he pushed against my chest and stepped back, suddenly shy and panicked. "...it's...Oh no. No I can't...I..." He stepped back further. "Good bye!" He rushed over to his tree on the far right wing of the stage.

I called after him. "But when will I see you again?"

"Oh...never. Never!" He picked up the empty berry basket.

"Never?" I could hear myself sound crestfallen.

He paused and turned to look at me. "...Well. Maybe someday..."

"When? Tomorrow?" I then looked hopefully at him only to frown as he shook his head.

"Oh no..this evening."

"Where?"

"At the cottage." He turned to leave and glanced back, adding, "In the glen!" He then exited off stage as I went to pick up the discarded cape and hat. I looked confused for a moment as I tied on the cape then broke out into a grin as I put on the hat, shaking my head as if I didn't believe my incredibly luck as I stepped out off on the other side of the stage.

As the next scene with the good faries' misadventures with trying to make the princess' dress and cake, I met up with Arthur, who was forced into getting the stage makeup reapplied, backstage. "Ar—Teach!

"Mr. Jones. Keep your voice down; they could hear you on stage." He tossed me a waterbottle as he approached me, his makeup done, and smiled despite the scolding. "You did very well in the waltz."

Opening the bottle I couldn't help but smile, feeling the gaze of many of my classmates on the two of us...or perhaps it was all in my head. "You too. I'm looking forward to the rest of the play now." I then shivered...there _was_ someone watching. I turned my head toward the negative energy and Toris quickly looked away, a frown on his lips. "..."

I suddenly felt Arthur come closer to stand next to me, lightly whispering. "Relax...don't let it bother you."

Swallowing I nodded and headed over to the girls who had been surrounding Arthur before I came up to him. They insisted on sitting me down and reapplying the stage makeup for the following scene...even though I wouldn't be up for a while. I stole a glance at Arthur making his way to the other side-stage entrance, ready to enter the next scene. Silently I wished him good luck, hoping I would get to see the next scene, which was the one where Briar Rose would cry, and closed my eyes as the powder brush attacked my face, willing the makeup crew to hurry so I could go to the side stage and watch.

* * *

A/N: There we have it. I'll do my best to bring the next chapter of this Fic after I upload the new chapters of my two other fanfictions~ -bows- Thank you for reading. ^^


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